If my pet gets his/her teeth professionally cleaned what should I know about anesthesia? Most importantly you should know if a doctor will be present with your pet at all times when he/she is under anesthesia. Also ask about what type of anesthesia will be used and what type of monitoring devices are employed. Anesthesia is relatively safe and has advanced tremendously over the years. Unfortunately, there is always risk however that risk can be minimized by attentive monitoring, body temperature control and appropriate preoperative blood testing. It is very rare that a pet cannot have anesthesia due to a concurrent medical issue, but it does happen occasionally. In this case, diligent home care to minimize the plaque and calculus accumulation is paramount to maintain the healthiest mouth possible. There has been a lot of attraction to anesthetic-free cleaning but scaling under the gum line where periodontal disease starts is difficult and treatment of early lesions is impossible. Additionally, the insides of the teeth cannot be accessed for cleaning/probing and the molars in the back of the mouth, where periodontal disease is often present, cannot be adequately examined or cleaned. Pets do not just sit like people and open their mouths. They tend to move around to various degrees and can be injured by the instruments, frightened or stressed during this awake cleaning influencing your pets experience for future oral exams or brushing at home. Awake dental radiographs (X-rays) are also not practical and exposes staff and pets to extra radiation. Furthermore, a substantial amount of “hidden” pathology is missed when a pet is not anesthetized.