Getting to know… Melissa Blazevich, DVM DAVCD

What drives your passion for veterinary care?
My patients, honestly. My patients teach me more than I’ll ever be able to give back to them. Each and every pet deserves a voice, an advocate, for them and that’s where I step in. It’s so rewarding to have an owner tell me how well their pet is doing after a procedure with me.

What Sets Your Approach Apart in Pet Healthcare?
As a Board Certified Dentist, I take great pride in focusing in on giving pets the best oral health possible. Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery is a very unique niche. If you compare what I do to the human world… I’m a general dentist, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, endodontist, periodontist, orthodontist and prosthodontist all wrapped into one!

What influenced your decision to pursue this profession?
I knew I wanted to be a Veterinarian early on in my college career but the cool thing is I did not know I could be a Veterinary Dentist until I was in my third year of vet school. I shadowed a Boarded Veterinary Dentist during a clinical rotation and fell in love with the area of veterinary medicine. I asked that Veterinarian (who later became my resident mentor) “So I can do this (veterinary dentistry) every day?” And she said “Yes!”… that was it.. I was sold! I truly love what I do! The quote “if you love what you do, you’ll never have to work a day in your life” is exactly how I feel about my chosen career path!

While working for him before vet school Dr. Melissa was inspired by the late Dr. Bob Hancock who founded South Paws with his wife. Jennifer, loved working at South Paws and wanted to bring my knowledge in dentistry and oral surgery back to the clinic. I learned a lot from Dr. Bob. Returning to South Paws and starting dentistry and oral services in October of 2020 felt like I was coming home.”

Dr, Melissa says most of her clients do not even realize dentistry and oral surgery specialties exists until their pet is in need- Her services are the first of their kind on the Northshore, “General veterinarians will refer their patients to me for services such as root canal therapy of a fractured tooth, oral cancer and maxillofacial trauma, such as getting hit by a car. As this specialty grows. we can learn more and treat more.”

While many veterinarians do general dental cleanings. Dr. Melissa says she offers the full gamut of dental care and oral surgery. “l start with a complete dental cleaning, an oral exam which includes full mouth probing. and a complete set of intraoral x-rays. If treatment is needed — such as a tooth extraction — it can be done immediately, Some of my favorite patients are police dogs. Bite work is essential in their line of duty. so they’ll come in for a fractured tooth to receive root canal therapy. My goal is to protect the affected tooth so that the Officer is able to return to work and do their job without pain discomfort,” Dr. Melissa says she also enjoys working on cats and has worked on larger animals in a zoo setting. “l love big cats, It would be a great goal achieved if I could work on Mike the Tiger,”