Patterson podcast spotlights how clinics can prepare for Dental Month
Patterson Veterinary is teeing up Pet Dental Health Month with an education-focused podcast episode featuring Dr. Zack Mills, owner of Tiger Tails Animal Hospital, as practices prepare for another seasonal push in veterinary dentistry. In “Prepping for Dental Month with Dr. Zack Mills,” Mills shares lessons from more than four decades in the profession, with the conversation centered on patient care, pet parent compliance, cross-training, and newer developments shaping dental standards in practice. (rss.com)
The episode lands in a familiar rhythm for companion animal practice. February has been informally recognized as National Pet Dental Health Month since 1993, and AAHA notes that AVMA and Hill’s Pet Nutrition began sponsoring the initiative in 1995. Over time, the month became both a public-awareness campaign and a commercial fixture, with many hospitals using discounts and marketing pushes to drive case acceptance. (aaha.org)
That history helps explain why Patterson’s framing matters. The RSS episode notes describe the discussion not simply as a reminder about dentistry, but as a practical look at what clinics can do to prepare for Dental Month. That suggests a broader operational focus: staffing, scheduling, client communication, and standard-setting, not just procedure volume. Mills’ background also adds weight here. According to Tiger Tails Animal Hospital, he has held both clinical and industry leadership roles, including senior positions at Merial, before returning to practice ownership and helping build a multi-hospital operation in Duluth, Georgia. (rss.com)
The broader profession has been moving in the same direction. AAHA’s 2025 commentary on Pet Dental Health Month argued that concentrating dentistry into a single month can limit progress and overload teams, and recommended strategies that spread demand more evenly, including time-limited discounts after a recommendation, stronger in-room education, and loyalty-style compliance tools. At the clinical level, longstanding AAHA and AVMA-aligned guidance continues to emphasize that appropriate canine and feline dental care requires anesthesia, and that intraoral radiographs are a core part of a complete dental assessment when indicated. The American Veterinary Dental College has also pushed back on “anesthesia-free” dentistry, preferring language that makes clear those procedures are not comprehensive care. (aaha.org)
There’s also a home-care and product recommendation angle for practices heading into dental campaigns. The Veterinary Oral Health Council continues to maintain accepted product lists for dogs and cats, giving teams a third-party reference point when recommending diets, treats, chews, toothpastes, wipes, and water additives. That matters because Mills’ episode notes highlight pet parent compliance, and home-care success often depends on giving families realistic, evidence-based options they’ll actually use after the professional cleaning is done. (vohc.org)
Why it matters: For veterinary professionals, this story is less about a single podcast release and more about where dentistry education is heading. Dental Month remains a strong engagement tool, but the business and medical opportunity is in turning a seasonal campaign into year-round preventive care. Practices that identify dental disease earlier, explain why anesthetized dentistry is the standard of care, use radiographs appropriately, and recommend VOHC-recognized home-care products may be better positioned to improve compliance without creating a February-only surge. That can help smooth caseloads, support staff utilization, and move dentistry closer to a preventive care pathway instead of a once-a-year promotion. (aaha.org)
What to watch: The next signal will be whether more education and supplier content around Pet Dental Health Month shifts from promotional messaging to implementation support, especially around team training, case acceptance, and year-round dental workflows. If that happens, February may remain the awareness hook, but not the only window when hospitals actively build dentistry volume. (rss.com)