Important to Know: Does My Cat or Dog have a Healthy Mouth?
Bad breath usually means there is gum disease. In our pets this is incredibly common and often goes unnoticed, or tolerated, for very long periods of time.
Quick Read (30 Seconds):
All pets, cats and dogs alike can suffer from dental disease
“Out of sight, out of mind” sadly predominates in our pet population
Not eating is rarely a reliable symptom for bad teeth
Brushing teeth is best, but there are other interventions that we can do for unwilling patients
A comprehensive examination, examining under the gum line, can only be carried out under a full general anaesthetic
Dental disease - A Catch-All Term
Dental disease in our pets covers lots of different types of conditions. Ranging from gingivitis (inflammation and blood in the gums) to cancerous growths affecting large parts of the mouth. In the vet profession we tend to limit dental disease to problems affecting teeth and gums such as broken teeth, tooth abscesses, and gingivitis.
What happens?
Box 1 (below) outlines the steps that occur when dental disease progresses. Like in humans, the mouth is not a sterile place, it is full of bacteria; good bacteria and bad bacteria. To complicate matters, good bacteria can become bad bacteria! If the bad bacteria multiply and form a film over your pet’s teeth, this is referred to as plaque.
Plaque then produces some acid that can erode the enamel of a tooth and eat into the gums of a pet. This erosion causes inflammation and bleeding of gums, gingivitis, which slowly erodes away at the healthy tissue. The recession of gums exposes roots into very painful conditions.
The plaque can form a hard shield, tartar, behind which it can work unnoticed. In some extreme circumstances a tooth can be so damaged that only tartar is holding it fixed in place!
BOX 1: The progression of dental disease!
Plaque formation
Gingivitis (Red and sore gums like the picture)
Gingival Recession (Can be hidden by tartar)
Root exposure (Painful)
Abscess/Tooth Death (Very Painful!)
How is it diagnosed?
Dental disease can be easily spotted at home. Raise your cat or dog’s lips and see if there is any reddening on the gums. The most common place this starts is over the big molars (The carnassials in vet speak!) at the back of the mouth. In severe cases, you may have tartar built up over the teeth and visibly exposed roots.
Just looking is a great start. It doesn’t however give us an indication of how deep the damage goes. This can only be done with a dental probe under the gum line and it is a rare dog or cat who lets us do this conscious!
For a full assessment of gum disease and our first needs are to have a short general anaesthetic and to scale all the plaque away and polish the teeth smooth again. This then allows us to code and record the condition of all the teeth and plan any future interventions we may need.
General Anaesthesia – Should I be worried?
In general terms no.There is a lot of concern over an anaesthetic but in current medicine it is very safe. Where you have concerns we will always discuss specifics with you in relation to your pet.
To make it even safer we do specific things:
Running a pre-surgical blood test to make sure liver and kidneys are working appropriately
Administering fluids through the procedure to support the heart and blood pressures
Close monitoring throughout the anaesthetic by a fully trained member of the team who can check blood pressures, key vital parameters all through the procedure. This means we are prepared to react whenever the need arises
Monitor your pet carefully during the recovery
How is it treated?
All the treatments for advanced gingivitis and gum disease need a general anaesthetic to make sure they are done safely.
Severe dental disease may need teeth to be removed. This can be done at the time of our full assessment above, or may need a special surgery, depending on the severity.
Once recovered all pets can be fed as normal and it is amazing how many eat better despite having teeth removed!
This picture is the same dog above. Can you spot how the gum on the back tooth is slightly recessed? We can check for any pockets to decide if we need to remove the tooth. Luckily in this case we have caught the disease quickly and so didn’t need to remove the tooth!
What can I do for dental care in my pet?
“A stitch in time saves nine” is a phrase my grandmother used a lot! This is true of dental disease. Where possible, brushing teeth is the best means to prevent the plaque build-up. This is not always easy, but persistence, and starting when our pets are young is so important to get good behaviours taught quick. Cat’s and dogs differ in their acceptance so follow the two videos below to see the techniques:
How to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth
How to Brush Your Cat’s Teeth
Sadly, not all pets co-operate. There are many different supplements on the market and they all have a place in prevention. They rarely make much difference as a treatment though and once gingivitis sets in, we know we should reach for the anaesthetic options.
Common supplements are
- Capsules that secrete enzymes. We use Nutraplaque at our practice
- Treats that help control tartar (many prands support this)
- Mouth wash in water. Hexarinse works in this area
- Specialised diets that “brush” your dogs teeth when chewing hard kibble. RC and Hill have dental specific diets.
It would take too long to write about all the options but come in and speak to us if you have any interest.
Conclusion
Dental care is often missed in our pets. Both cats and dogs suffer from dental disease. Brushing teeth is the best preventative approach, and should we get severe disease, dental care under a general anaesthetic is likely to be needed.
Prevention is better than cure, but a cure is better than neglecting a mouth!
Book in now for an assessment and discussion on dental health.