<>Working to improve the oral health of companion animals around the world
h4
Working to improve the oral health of companion animals around the world
Dental, oral, and maxillofacial diseases are some of the most common problems seen in small animal veterinary practice. They can cause significant pain, as well as localized and potentially systemic infection and are a significant animal welfare concern. Coupled with this is the fact that dentistry is an area of veterinary medicine which is still widely ignored and is subject to many myths and misconceptions.
To address these problems, the WSAVA created its Global Dental Committee (GDC) with the simple goal of improving the oral health of companion animals around the world. The GDC provides Continuing Education (CE) on dentistry – both face to face (pre-COVID-19) and also online.
WSAVA Global Dental Guidelines
The GDC has created a set of Global Dental Guidelines to support the companion animal veterinary team around the world in raising standards of dental practice. A key theme is the WSAVA’s rejection of anesthesia-free dentistry (AFD), which it ribes as ineffective and a cause of unnecessary stress and suffering to patients.
The Guidelines have been published in the Journal of Small Animal Practice and are available for free download from the WSAVA website. Review them here:
Training the Trainer
The GDC launched a ‘Train the Trainer’ initiative, holding a session for 20 delegates from countries including India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Thailand during a recent WSAVA CE event held in conjunction with FSAPAI in Guwahati, India.
Following his presentation, based on the WSAVA Global Dental Guidelines, WSAVA GDC Chair Dr Brook Niemiec said: “The objective of our Train the Trainer session was to empower those who attended to give a modified version of the presentation in their own regions. The session was interactive to ensure that attendees could ask questions and offer their opinion as to how aspects of the Guidelines would be received in their regions.
“We’re looking forward to hearing how they get on with their presentations and thank them for helping us to raise standards of veterinary dentistry worldwide.”