Many pets, especially older pets, have gingivitis (inflamation of the gums) or periodontis (recession of supporting bone and gingival attachment) and have to undergo a dental procedure to clean plaque and calculus from their teeth and to extract diseased teeth. Although dental procedures are increasingly common on nondiabetic animals, the procedure is especially important to minimize underlying low grade infections in diabetic animals. That infection may be hindering regulation. Some caregivers report lower blood glucose readings after an animal finishes its post-procedure antibiotics.