Lincoln Ave Cat & Dog Hospital

ORAL AND JAW SURGERY

Surgical extractions, oral masses, jaw fractures, and palate repair for dogs and cats in Bergen County. Dental X-rays and surgery in one hospital.

Pets Hide Mouth Pain Well

Dogs and cats with painful mouths almost always keep eating, they chew on the other side, swallow food whole, or simply tolerate it. Eating is not evidence that nothing is wrong.

Most of what causes oral pain sits below the gumline, where it can't be seen during a conscious exam. Finding it takes dental X-rays under anesthesia.

  • Full-mouth dental X-rays

  • 35 years of surgical experience

  • Diagnostics and surgery in one hospital

  • Local nerve blocks and take-home pain control

  • No referral needed

  • Independent, doctor-owned hospital

Available treatment varies according to the species and condition.

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Does My Pet Need Oral Surgery?

Meet with a doctor to examine the mouth, review what the X-rays show, and understand which teeth or tissue actually need to come out and which don't.

  • A broken, loose or badly damaged tooth.

  • Any lump, growth or sore in the mouth that isn't healing.

  • Swelling below an eye, or along the jaw.

  • Pawing at the face, or reacting when the muzzle is touched.

  • Dropping food, or chewing only on one side.

  • A cat that has stopped eating, or is drooling.

  • Difficulty opening or closing the mouth.

  • Second opinion.

In-House Diagnostics and Surgery

Start with an examination and understand the diagnosis before making a treatment decision.

Diagnosis and Surgery in One Hospital

More than half of every tooth sits beneath the gumline, and the same is true of the disease that affects it. A tooth that looks sound can have an abscessed root. A mass that looks small on the surface can extend into bone. X-rays are what turn a guess into a plan.

Full-mouth dental radiographs

Surgical and incisional biopsy

Digital X-rays for jaw and skull

Oral biopsy and cytology

Bloodwork before anesthesia

Continuous anesthesia monitoring

X-rays are taken while your pet is already under anesthesia, so the findings and the treatment happen in the same visit.

Oral and Jaw Procedures We Perform

What the mouth needs is decided after the X-rays, not before.
The plan is discussed with you before anything is removed.

Surgical Extractions

Not every tooth comes out the same way.
A simple extraction lifts a tooth free. A surgical extraction is needed when a root is fractured, fused to bone, or belongs to a large multi-rooted tooth the gum is opened, a small amount of bone is removed, the tooth is sectioned, and the site is closed with sutures.

Where a tooth can be saved instead, we'll say so. Tooth-preserving options are covered under Dentistry.

Surgical and simple extractions

Fractured, abscessed and retained roots

Local nerve blocks during the procedure

Sutured closure and take-home pain control

Feline Stomatitis and Tooth Resorption

Two conditions that affect cats and almost nothing else, and both end in extraction. In tooth resorption, the tooth structure breaks down from the inside and is gradually replaced by bone. It is painful, cannot be reversed, and cannot be filled or repaired. X-rays determine which teeth are affected and how, and removal is the treatment.

Stomatitis is severe, whole-mouth inflammation in which the immune system reacts to the teeth themselves.

Extraction of resorptive lesions

Caudal or full-mouth extraction for stomatitis

Extended pain management during recovery

Feeding guidance for the weeks afterward

Oral Masses and Tumors

Growths in the mouth need identifying early. Some are benign and slow-growing. Others are among the more aggressive tumors in dogs and cats, and they behave very differently from one another, which is why a biopsy comes before any decision about removal.

Oral biopsy and staging

Mass removal with margins

Partial mandibulectomy or maxillectomy when indicated

Full pathology on everything removed

Coordination with a veterinary oncologist when appropriate

Jaw Fractures and TMJ

The jaw is not repaired like other bones. Tooth roots occupy most of the mandible, so plates and screws often aren't the right choice. Many jaw fractures are stabilized instead with wiring and a composite splint bonded to the teeth, which holds alignment without damaging the roots.

We also assess the temporomandibular joint (the hinge of the jaw) in pets who can't open or close the mouth normally, or whose jaw locks or clicks.

Interdental wiring and composite splinting

Repair of trauma-related fractures

Temporomandibular joint assessment and treatment

Jaws weakened by advanced dental disease

Follow-up imaging to confirm healing

Palate, Lip and Salivary Gland Surgery

Defects that connect the mouth to places it shouldn't. An oronasal fistula is an opening between the mouth and the nasal cavity.

Cleft palates are present from birth and are repaired once a puppy or kitten is old enough. Salivary mucoceles (swellings caused by saliva leaking into surrounding tissue) are treated by removing the affected gland.

Oronasal fistula repair

Cleft palate repair

Salivary mucocele and ranula treatment

Lip fold and lip laceration repair

About Anesthesia

This is the question we're asked more than any other, usually about an older pet.

Every procedure on this page requires general anesthesia. There is no version of oral surgery, or of a meaningful dental X-ray, that happens with a conscious animal.

Age is not a disease. A healthy twelve-year-old is often a better anesthetic candidate than a sick four-year-old. What matters is the individual patient, which is why bloodwork comes first, why an IV catheter is placed, why heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen and temperature are monitored throughout, and why local nerve blocks are used so that less general anesthetic is needed.

If your pet has a heart condition, kidney disease or another concern, tell us.

FINANCING OPTIONS WE WORK WITH

Trusted by Fairlawn Pet Parents

Read how Dr. El-Akbawy and our dedicated team have transformed the lives of pets across Bergen County.

Proud Members & Accreditations

AAHA Accredited

AVMA Member

NJVMA

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Lincoln Ave Cat & Dog Hospital

Family-owned and independently operated on Lincoln Avenue since 1984.

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Serving Fair Lawn, NJ and Bergen county since 1984.