Friday Jun 18, 2010 6.38 pm.

I asked my assistant Mr Saw to phone the dog owner. I was surprised that this bespectacled young man who would be in his early 30s really got his dog down to the Surgery in the afternoon for dental work. When he came for his dog at 5 pm, I sought feedback from him as to how he had tracked me down.

The young man said: "I use asiaone.com inserting "dog dental scaling" to find a vet who could do dental scaling for his dog and found your website. I then e-mail to you."

I usually "google" for webpages and had never considered asiaone. However I switched on asiaone.com to check its efficiency in search by using "dog dental scaling". The free-lance webmaster of 5 years had highly recommended this search engine as it specialises in locating local webpage searches.

I log in via Firefox but the search had problems loading. So I tried again for another 5 minutes and switched from Firefox to Internet Explorer. I had this unreliable Starhub internet USB plugged into my desktop as the Toa Payoh Industrial Park in Lorong 8 was not wired and could not receive wireless internet. So, the problem might be my internet connection. Just as I was about to give up, the search results via the "Web" search page displayed
toapayohvets.com/surgery/050609periodontal_disease_cat_dog.htm. This was the webpage the webmaster said he saw "pictures of dogs doing dental scaling." At first I could not understand what he meant till I saw pictures in this webpage.

It was a pity that asiaone takes a long time to download this evening at 6.49 pm. I google "dog dental scaling" and the search results came out within 0.23 seconds. I found
bekindtopets.com/dogs/20080828Dog_Dental_Problems_Singapore_ToaPayohVets.htm
on the 2nd page.

Many young people search for info on the internet. This webmaster research everything he needed to know about dog dental scaling, including anaesthetic risk and other worries. I had a good chat and learnt much about the pros and cons of online data base (Access recommended by him), domain hosting in Singapore v. in the U.S (he prefers Singapore) and fees for setting up a website (varies from $500 to $50,000).

The webmaster's 5-year-old Bichon Frise kept pawing him while we talked, as if the dog wanted to go  home. "He is an attention-seeker," the webmaster told me as he answered a phone call saying he would be back soon.  "It's my mum who wants to see the dog," he said to me. I thought it was his girlfriend or wife. The webmaster decided to microchip his dog and get a dog licence too.

Anaesthestic reactions to isoflurane
I used Domitor 0.1 ml IV via the IV drip. The dog was intubated but he just would not be fully anaesthesized after intubation.  He kept moving when he should be asleep soundly as in the previous case of the Shih Tzu with cornea ulcerations and 3rd eyelid flap surgery. I had given this dog xylazine 20 @ 0.2 ml IM, masked with isoflurane gas and then intubate and maintain with the gas. The dog slept like a log as I did the 3rd eyelid flap for two eyes.

"There are a few dogs that just cannot be fully anaesthesized by isoflurane gas," I explained to my assistant Mr Saw when the Bichon Frise was still moving. "It is something like drug resistance from certain bacteria. Or an allergic reaction. You need to take out the endotracheal tube and use the mask to deliver the anaesthesia. If you continue, the dog may vomit out fluid and get inhalation pneumonia when the vomitus flows into his lungs." 

I took out the endotracheal tube and use the mask.  Mr Saw nodded his head. He had picked up much knowledge working in Toa Payoh Vets which is a small practice and so he could be hands on in various aspects of the practice.

He had ambitions to be his own boss and start his own veterinary practice in Myanmar and I expect him to do well. Mr Saw had told me yesterday that the anaesthestic machine was malfunctioning as a dog anaesthesized by my associate Dr Jason Teo was not fully asleep. Yet he saw the Shih Tzu sleeping very well just before the Bichon Frise and therefore the anaesthetic machine was operating normally.
 
As for the webmaster's Bichon, only the left upper premolar 3 had roots exposed. I had it extracted as this may be the cause of him feeling the pain and moody when the Chihuahua approached him to play. Nobody really knows but the webmaster suspected that this could be the problem.

Difficulty in brushing the back teeth
Many dog owners in Singapore have difficulty in using the finger tooth brush to clean the dog's teeth. The dog would just run away or refuse to open his mouth or bite.

TIP:
I advised him to use something the dog like, put it on the finger tooth brush as the dog had been avoiding him whenever the dog sees his finger brush and the canine tooth paste. "Use some food the dog likes e.g. cheese and put on the toothbrush. So the dog looks forward to tooth brushing every day." Human beings are devious creatures.

I told the webmaster that the tartar will build up again and bad breath will return after a year if he does not brush his dog's teeth daily or at least 3 times per week.

P.S
On Jun 19, 2010 at 1.38 am, I tried www.asiaone.com and do "dog dental scaling" search. The results were <1 second. I could see, on the right column, the following:
 

You need to go to "Web" section to do your search correctly. If you go to the "News" section, you will get no satisfaction. It seems that asiaone.com is worth considering when one looks for Singapore businesses.
 

To make an appointment: e-mail judy@toapayohvets.com
tel: +65 9668-6469, 6254-3326