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Before Your Consultation

Our team is a group of dedicated and caring individuals with a passion for helping pets have comfortable and functional mouths and overall good well-being. We love what we do, and do excellent work.

Client sitting on a bench with a tall tan and white dog in front

We Could Use Your Help

We appreciate your effort to help us help our patients. We truly thank you.

Veterinary medicine in general, and especially specialty veterinary medicine, currently has a problem. There often literally just aren’t enough of us to meet the need for care in the time frame that we (and you) would like to. Some days, it breaks our hearts not to be able to help everyone, but we always do our absolute best.

To help minimize the impact that this has on pets and their people, and allow us to continue to provide care for as many pets as is possible, we’re asking our clients to help us with a more proactive and detailed approach to collecting information about our patients ahead of their consultation visits. We don’t intend for it to be cumbersome (but it may take some time and effort for pets with complex medical conditions). It’s not meant to be off-putting; it’s necessary for us to do our job well, and it’s important to be sure that we’re treating all of our patients with the level of care and attention they and our clients deserve.

Consultation Availability

We often have a wait time of several months for consultation visits, but occasionally have cancellations or days when schedules change, and we use those times to the most benefit possible. The information we collected ahead of scheduling a consultation then helps us to triage those waiting for care and potentially move more urgent patients into newly-available times.

Patients more likely to be triaged due to urgency are those with oral tumors, jaw fractures, and those physically unable to eat due to their oral disease.

  • Please note that poor appetite in dogs and cats more commonly has a non-oral/dental cause, so it’s important to confirm with your veterinarian that a pet with a poor appetite is otherwise healthy before assuming that oral/dental disease is the problem.

  • Our pre-consultation checklist describes the other factors that facilitate moving a patient into a newly-available consultation appointment. Once the checklist items are completed, please complete the Consultation Request Form and we’ll be in touch to schedule your pet’s consultation appointment.

Animal Dental Clinic is generally declining to see patients for second opinion consultation if they have already been evaluated by another of our Board Certified Veterinary Dentist™ colleagues.

Pre-Consultation Checklist

Wellness examination and labwork based on age and health status:

  • If your pet is generally healthy and less than 10 years old: Please schedule wellness examination and general health screening labwork with your primary care veterinarian if it hasn’t been done in the past year.

  • If your pet is generally healthy and more than 10 years old: Please schedule wellness examination and general health screening labwork with your primary care veterinarian if it hasn’t been done in the past 6 months.

  • If your pet has ongoing or chronic medical conditions: Please schedule a follow-up examination and appropriate lab work and/or imaging with your primary care veterinarian (and/or the appropriate managing veterinary specialist) if this hasn’t been done in the past 3-6 months (depending on severity/impact/stability of the condition). Your veterinarian or our team (if we have your pet’s medical records) can advise on specific recommended follow-up items if needed.

  • If your pet has a heart murmur and hasn’t been evaluated by a cardiologist with an echocardiogram (heart sonogram), please schedule this.

Vaccinations, Records, FAQs

Rabies vaccination:

  • If your pet doesn’t have a current rabies vaccination, please schedule this with your primary care veterinarian.

Medical records:

  • Please request your pet’s medical records from ALL veterinary practices that have provided care in the past 2 years, or for any significant surgical procedures.

Why does ADC ask to review my pet’s medical records ahead of consultation visit?

  • Medical record submission information:

  • Fax: 650-910-8970

  • Mail: 987 Laurel St., San Carlos, CA 94070

FAQ:

  • Please read our FAQ so that you know what to expect from us.

Consultation Request & Photographs

Consultation request:

  • Please complete the consultation request form to request consultation with a board-certified specialist in veterinary dentistry and oral surgery.

  • If you’re unable to complete the online form, please call (650) 610-9501 and our team will assist you. Please note- we’ll be asking questions about your pet’s medical history and the veterinary practices that provide care for your pet.

Photographs:

  • If possible, send us photos of what you are seeing in your pet’s mouth

  • Photo submission information:

    • Text: (650) 610-9501 (we cannot receive videos via text message)

Once we receive your consultation request, photos, and your pet’s medical records, our team will be in touch to schedule your pet’s consultation visit.