The Academy of Veterinary Dental Technicians Position Statement on Non-Anesthesia Dentistry
 

As veterinary technicians, we stand to uphold basic animal welfare considerations, including preventing
and minimizing animal suffering, pain, stress, and fear, and allowing animals to express their natural
behaviors.
 

Non-anesthesia dentistry is facilitated by physical rather than chemical restraint of patients to
cosmetically remove dental tartar from the teeth. When a pet is physically restrained, and sharp dental
instruments are used, the procedure is likely to cause fear, discomfort, and pain. The pet may react by
struggling to get away, biting, scratching, or freezing in fear. The pet’s natural reaction puts them and
the veterinary team at risk of injury. For these reasons, the AVDT does not support non-anesthesia
dentistry. 
 

Non-anesthesia dentistry also does not allow a veterinary professional the opportunity to evaluate and clean the portion of the teeth below the gum line. Additionally, detection of dental conditions such as
periodontal disease, tooth fracture, tooth resorption, tooth mobility, alveolar bone infection, tooth
developmental abnormalities, malocclusions, and oral tumors are less likely without a thorough oral
evaluation and dental radiographs under anesthesia. Non-anesthesia dentistry may delay the detection of these painful conditions, allowing disease to progress to a critical level with limited treatment options.
 

The AVDT respects and supports the human-animal bond, fear-free practices, and professional dental
and oral care provided only while the pet is under general anesthesia. The AVDT does not support the
delivery of substandard dental care to any animals using non-anesthesia dentistry by our members,
mentees, candidates, or the profession as a whole.
 

This statement is substantiated by research regarding the humane and proper oral care of animals
worldwide by the following organizations:
http://avdc.org/AFD/

http://www.wsava.org/guidelines/global-dental-guidelines 
http://www.ava.com.au/node/85991
https://www.aaha.org/public_documents/professional/guidelines/dental_guidelines.pdf 
 

Abiding by these positioning statements is a good faith requirement of all AVDT members, candidates, mentees, and applicants to ensure the highest level of patient care and safety regarding dentalprocedures that permanently alter the patient’s oral cavity, including bone, tooth, and soft tissue
removal.   

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Note: This position statement means that although the state in which an AVDT mentee, candidate, or
member is employed may allow a technician to perform specific procedures that the AVDT deems
unacceptable, and has signed the AVDT policy statements, the mentee or candidate can be removed
from the AVDT program or the member’s VTS (Dentistry) designation can be revoked.