TOPEKA, Kan. (June 29, 2009) — Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. is pleased to award 2009 Pet Dental Awareness Contest first place honors to Lodi Veterinary Hospital in Lodi, Wis. As the grand prize winners, the team at Lodi will receive a check for $2,000, and be recognized on the PetDental.com website.

"This is a huge win for our team. Our pet dental campaign had a positive impact on our revenue, services performed and helped us acquire new clients," said Beth Van Kekerix, D.V.M. "But most of all it improved the standard of care we provide to our canine and feline patients."

Hill's held the Dental Awareness Contest in conjunction with the Pet's Need Dental Care, Too? campaign which encourages veterinary health care teams to make the most of their opportunity to promote pet dental health to clients. More than 75 veterinary hospitals in the United States entered the contest by submitting an entry form, photos, radiographs, dental charts, multimedia and key examples of how their health care team promoted pet dental care and an ongoing commitment to dental health. An independent judging panel scored the entries based on a variety of factors including clinic activities, community outreach and creativity.

The team at Lodi went to great lengths to showcase the need for proper pet dental health including:

• Getting the entire team involved through internal education and assigning special tasks for each patient to ensure compliance in treatment
• Providing periodontal checkups as part of every pet physical examination including free dental examinations during the month of February
• Working with local print and online media outlets to generate editorial coverage
• Designing and displaying posters and periodontal disease forms which included the stages and descriptions of each stage
• Documenting a client case study of a 14-year-old male/neutered domestic shorthair cat to demonstrate the positive effects the plan had from start to finish
• Planning follow up tactics to ensure the home care routine stays consistent
• Getting the entire family of the pet involved through coloring contests and educational exam room presentations

"Our best practice tips for dental health would be performing exams as part of every physical examination, staging every pets periodontal disease and formulating a plan based on that pet's exam," said Dr. Van Kekerix. "Ultimately, working together with our Lodi team and our clients is making a difference. Because of this combined effort, we have healthier and happier pets and pet owners."

Hill's also named East Lake Veterinary Hospital, Dallas, Texas, a second place win of $1,000 and Towne South Animal Hospital, Shreveport, La., a third place win of $500. Seven honorable mention runner up winners included Arizona Animal Wellness Center, Gilbert, Ariz.; Sierra Veterinary Hospital, Carson City, Nev.; Serenity Animal Hospital, Sterling Heights, Mich.; Northgate Pet Clinic, Decatur, Ill.; Just Cats Veterinary Clinic, Guilderland, NY; Nassau Veterinary Clinic, Nassau, NY; and Norwalk Veterinary Medical Center, Norwalk, Ohio.

"Periodontal disease is a bacterial infection caused by dental plaque and in pets it's often neglected compared to treatment of other diseases," said Ellen I. Logan, D.V.M., Ph.D., manager, Hill's Veterinary Consultation Service. "In human and veterinary medicine there is a strong association between periodontal disease and systemic or distant organ disease. Oral health in pets is of critical importance, and it deserves regular and systematic attention in the exam room and at home."

This ongoing campaign to provide dogs and cats with proper dental care is made possible through the active efforts of the American Veterinary Medical Association, American Veterinary Dental Society, Academy of Veterinary Dentistry, American Veterinary Dental College, Academy of Veterinary Dental Technicians, Veterinary Oral Health Council and Hill's Pet Nutrition.

Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. manufactures Hill's® Prescription Diet® brand pet foods, therapeutic pet foods available only through veterinarians, and Hill's® Science Diet® brand pet foods sold through veterinarians and finer pet specialty stores. Founded more than 60 years ago with a unique commitment to pet nutrition and well-being, Hill's is committed to its mission to help enrich and lengthen the special relationships between people and their pets. Hill's produces high-quality, great-tasting pet foods owners can trust and give to their canine and feline companions as part of a veterinary health care team recommendation. This ultimately improves patient health and the health of the practice. For more information about Hill's Pet Nutrition Inc. and Hill's Evidence-Based Clinical Nutrition™ visit HillsVet.com.