Patterson podcast spotlights Dental Month prep with Dr. Zack Mills

Patterson Veterinary is using its All Things Veterinary podcast to help practices gear up for National Pet Dental Health Month, with host Jimmy Dorough featuring Dr. Zack Mills of Tiger Tails Animal Hospital in Duluth, Georgia. Mills brings an unusual mix of private-practice and industry experience: he has spent more than four decades in veterinary medicine, previously held senior roles at Merial, and now leads a two-hospital companion animal practice. While Patterson’s source episode centers on preparing for Dental Month, the broader context is a profession still pushing preventive oral care, client education, and operational planning around one of small-animal medicine’s most common disease categories. (pattersonvet.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary teams, Dental Month is more than a marketing event. AAHA says most dogs and cats have some form of periodontal disease by age 3, and its guidance emphasizes that complete professional dental care requires anesthesia, subgingival cleaning, and dental radiography. That makes February campaigns a practical chance to fill schedules, standardize dental workflows, reinforce compliant messaging to pet parents, and steer clients toward evidence-based home care, including daily brushing and products recognized by the Veterinary Oral Health Council. The caution for clinics is to keep promotions aligned with clinical standards, especially as professional groups continue to warn against anesthesia-free dental scaling as an adequate substitute for veterinary dentistry. (aaha.org)

What to watch: Watch for whether practices turn Dental Month into a longer preventive-care playbook, with stronger recall systems, technician-led education, and year-round oral health follow-up rather than a single February push. (pattersonvet.com)