If dental compliance is a concern at your practice, you're not alone. The team at Lockwillow Avenue Animal Hospital in Harrisburg, Pa., worried that clients didn't always follow their dental recommendations. So they developed From Wicked to White: What It Takes to Get There. This client education book features veterinary assistant Rickee Miller's cocker spaniel, Andy. In February, 12-year-old Andy underwent a dental prophy. During the procedure, the team took step-by-step pictures, from drawing the blood and inserting the catheter for anesthesia monitoring to the sparkly "after" smile. Then an assistant skilled in graphic design compiled the photos in a book.

In Andy's case, a urine test revealed a high positive for microalbuminuria. When Andy was tested eight weeks after the dental prophy, he was normal. "We documented the tests with pictures," Miller says, "which gives us a nice example to show clients of how dental care can affect a pet's total health."