VANCOUVER — A B.C. Supreme Court judge has barred a woman from using an ultrasonic device to clean dogs' and cats' teeth except under the supervision of a veterinarian.
The College of Veterinarians of B.C., filed a petition asking that Corinne Henderson be permanently banned from performing the dental hygiene and other services provided by qualified individuals.
Justice Janice Dillon says that in October 2015, the college hired a private investigator to take a cocker spaniel named Bug to Henderson for teeth cleaning and she diagnosed the dog as having serious periodontis and said her procedure could cure the disease.
The ruling noted Henderson didn't keep a record of Bug's condition or details of an apparent cleaning and that a veterinarian who examined the dog five days later did find evidence of periodontis and calcified plaque on 22 teeth.
Henderson had consented to an order not to intimate that she practises veterinary medicine but opposed a prohibition that would require her to close her DentaPet business in North Vancouver.
Dillon says Henderson is permitted to continue using a hand scaler on animals' teeth as part of cosmetic teeth cleaning and grooming services, but she's not allowed to say the services are health related.