February -National Pet Dental Health Month

Cat, moderate tartar and periodontal disease, before dental cleaning and after dental cleaning

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Dog, moderate tartar, before dental cleaning and after dental cleaning

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This puppy’s teeth did not erupt normally through the gums and the teeth are covered with excess gum tissue.
We used a CO2 laser to remove the excess gum tissue so she could eat and chew normally.

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This cat has a cavity, called a Feline Oral Resorptive Lesion or FORL. It has eaten away the crown of the tooth.
The dental x-ray shows the same tooth. These lesions are very painful, and affected teeth should be removed.
About 40% of cats develop one or more of these cavities, usually between the ages of 2 and 10 years.
If one cavity develops there is a 75% chance that additional teeth will also develop them.

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Here is another FORL, this one in a canine tooth. Ouch!

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This dog has a tumor growing between the incisor teeth and pushing them out of position.

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Periodontal disease occurs when infection works its way under the gums and along the tooth roots.
First the gums get red and sore, then the gum and bone start to recede, exposing more and more of the tooth roots.
Eventually there will be so little attachment of the root to the bone that the tooth will fall out.
These x-rays show receded bone in the jaw of a cat and a dog.
The before and after dental cleaning views of a cat show what usually causes the periodontal disease (heavy tartar),
and the partially exposed tooth roots after the teeth are cleaned.
Notice how red and sore the gums look.

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This pet has a tooth with a large cavity (to the left) and a larger back molar (to the right) with periodontal disease.
The root toward the left is no longer attached to the bone at all – this tooth is soon to fall out.

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Stomatitis means inflammation in the mouth. This is usually a problem of cats.
It is thought that affected cats have developed an allergy to the plaque bacteria in their mouths.
The allergic reaction causes the gums and mouth tissues to become red, swollen and sore.
Many times there are also cavities and periodontal disease involved.
Infection with the Feline Leukemia or Feline Immunodeficiency viruses can lead to gingivitis or stomatitis.
The most successful treatment is to remove the teeth where the inflammation exists,
although we may try antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications first.

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When a large piece of a tooth breaks off it’s called a slab fracture.
This type of broken tooth usually occurs when a dog bites down on something harder than the tooth.
Just as when flaking a piece of rock to form an arrowhead, biting down at just the right spot breaks the tooth.
If the piece is shallow and the root is not exposed the tooth will be rough and accumulate tartar more quickly than a healthy tooth.
If the pulp of the tooth is exposed, either because the broken piece is large or decay sets in where a smaller piece broke off,
the tooth will become infected and painful.
Extraction of the tooth or a root canal will restore a healthy and comfortable mouth.

For more in depth explanations and photos and photos of more unusual dental problems go to: dentalvet.com

To help prevent some of these problems visit our Dental Cleaning page for a demonstration on cleaning of your pet's teeth.

We send our dental referrals to Animal Dental Center - Milwaukee and Oshkosh www.mypetsdentist.com