BOARD CERTIFIED
Veterinary Dentistry at Your Clinic
Our board-certified veterinary dentist travels to your primary care clinic to provide
advanced dental care in a setting already known and trusted
MEET OUR VETERINARY DENTIST
Dr. Mercedes De Paolo
Dr. Mercedes De Paolo is a board-certified veterinary dentist who lives and works in the greater Salt Lake City area. Her traveling dentistry practice is designed to keep clients and patients from having to jump through the hoops of entering a new hospital system when they would prefer to stay with the hospital they know and trust. Dr. De Paolo completed her three-year residency in Dentistry and Oral Surgery at UC Davis in 2020 and has passed all of the rigorous qualifying examinations to become a Diplomate of the American Veterinary Dental College. For more information on what it takes to become a board-certified veterinary dentist, please click here.
Prior to that, she attended veterinary school at Cornell University followed by a one-year rotating internship at UPenn. She is originally from Wyoming but has made her permanent home in Salt Lake City.
HIGH QUALITY SERVICE
Our board-certified veterinary dentist provides advanced dental care to your pets. To learn more about what it takes to complete the training needed for these skills, please click here
COMPREHENSIVE CARE
We provide comprehensive care including dental x-rays, dental charting, and a thorough oral examination of all patients to ensure no additional issues need to be addressed while under anesthesia
EXPERIENCED PROVIDER
Dr. De Paolo has extensive experience providing veterinary dental services to her patients. Her practice has focused exclusively on veterinary dentistry since 2017
COLLABORATION & PARTNERSHIP
Dr. De Paolo’s goal is to provide high quality dentistry in a setting that allows you and your primary care veterinarian to be closely involved in your pet’s dental care, both at the time of treatment and in the future
How it Works
Introduction
Dr. De Paolo comes to your hospital to meet and discuss client needs, to meet the veterinary team, and to explore the clinic’s dental unit, radiography system, and scaler.
Client Consultation
When a patient needs services, a call or text is the first step. From there, an initial consult is set up via phone or video conferencing. Both clients and family veterinarians
are welcome to attend this consult.
Estimate & Scheduling
Once the treatment plan is explained to the client,
an estimate is presented followed by scheduling
at the clinic with the client and their pet.
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During a comprehensive oral health assessment and treatment (COHAT), Dr. De Paolo performs a thorough exam of the mouth and surrounding tissues while your pet is anesthetized. This includes probing and charting of each tooth, just as you would expect at your own dentist. In addition, each tooth is scaled above and below the gumline in order to remove the plaque and calculus (tartar) that has accumulated in order to treat or prevent periodontal disease. For more information about periodontal disease in pets, please visit the American Veterinary Dental College website, here. Along with the comprehensive oral examination, full mouth dental radiographs (x-rays) are taken in order to evaluate the roots of the teeth as well as the surrounding bone. Once charting and radiographs have been obtained, Dr. De Paolo will utilize these diagnostics to finalize a treatment plan for your pet. In some cases, no further treatment beyond the COHAT is indicated. For more information about the importance of performing this procedure under anesthesia, please visit the American Veterinary Dental College website, here.
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Endodontics refers to the practice of treating the root canal system and pulp, which is where the blood vessels and nerves of the tooth are located. Commonly performed endodontic procedures include root canal therapy (removal of the pulp) and vital pulp therapy (pulp capping). The most common reason for needing endodontic therapy is a fractured tooth. Other possible reasons include death of the tooth after a concussive injury or tooth luxation (dislocation from the tooth socket).
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Orthodontics refers to the practice of repositioning a tooth that is in an abnormal position within the mouth, which is called a malocclusion. In pets, the ultimate goal of orthodontics is to restore comfort and function rather than to improve cosmetics. Procedures that can be performed to treat a malocclusion include inclined plane therapy, interceptive orthodontics (in puppies or kittens), crown extensions, ball therapy, placement of brackets and power chains, crown height reduction with vital pulp therapy, and other less common procedures.
Many malocclusions are heritable, meaning that dogs with malocclusions can pass those abnormalities to their offspring. Therefore, breeding of pets with heritable malocclusions is often not recommended. For the position statement of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Veterinary Dental College regarding orthodontics, please visit this website. -
Oral surgery is the broadest category in veterinary dentistry and encompasses many procedures such as tooth extractions and advanced oral surgery procedures.
Some reasons that your pet may require tooth extractions include:
Advanced periodontal disease
Fractured or non-vital teeth
Feline chronic gingivostomatitis (AKA “stomatitis”)
Canine chronic ulcerative stomatitis (CCUS)
Pain or difficulty eating due to abnormally positioned teeth
Many others
Other oral surgeries in cats and dogs include:
Cleft palate repair
Jaw fracture repair
Oral tumor removal
Biopsies
Oronasal fistula repair
Please note that Dr. De Paolo’s ability to perform jaw fracture repair, cleft palate repair, and oral tumor removal is limited as she does not have easy access to advanced imaging (CT, MRI) in your primary care veterinarian’s office. In addition, scheduling can rarely be facilitated on an emergency basis due Dr. De Paolo’s traveling practice. However, these cases can always be discussed and an effort made to help the patient in the best way possible.
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Advanced periodontal surgery can be performed in very specific cases in which tooth extraction is the alternative, but the clients would like to avoid this outcome if possible. Most teeth requiring extraction are not candidates for advanced periodontal surgery due to severe bone loss. However, strategic teeth with very focal bone defects may benefit from periodontal procedures such as repositioning flaps and crown lengthening. Advanced periodontal surgery also includes gingivectomy and gingivoplasty (reducing and reshaping the gum tissue) in animals with gingival enlargement or hyperplasia (overgrowth).
If you are a pet parent interested in Dr. De Paolo’s services, please ask your primary care veterinarian to reach out to us directly to coordinate care for your furry friend. Because we operate out of your family veterinarian’s office, we cannot schedule appointments without talking to them first.
If you are a veterinarian interested in working with Dr. De Paolo, please email us or fill out our contact form. Dr. De Paolo will call you to discuss how we can best work together to serve your patients’ needs. We are looking forward to working with you!
*Email is checked frequently during regular business hours, but please allow up to 24 hours for a response