Dental Disease - a common and insidious disease
Dental disease is the most commonly diagnosed disease in cats and dogs. The difficulty is that our pets do not show signs of dental disease the majority of the time. They can have advanced disease and continue to eat well and act normally. But in fact it is a disease that causes pain and infection which can go unnoticed for years. If pets do show signs of dental disease they may have bad breath, tartar buildup, changes in eating or chewing habits, pawing at the face and red inflamed gums.
Dental disease involves bacterial infection of the surfaces and structures around the teeth. As the infection progresses the gums are no longer able to hold their attachment to the teeth and thus pockets of infection form around the teeth. This leads to infection of the bone supporting the teeth. When the bone is disrupted teeth become loose, can no longer function normally and will eventually fall out. As this is a painful process it is best addressed in the early stages when the changes are more likely to be reversible.
Our goal is to have a mouth free of pain and infection. As our patients do not show signs of these at regular exams are vitally important to pick up early signs of dental disease in order to preserve the health of teeth as well as the health of the rest of the body. As infection can get into the blood from the mouth and travel to other organs causing damage, improved dental health will impact body as a whole.
It is always a good idea to start a dental homecare preventative plan and the earlier this is done the more your pet will be used it and the lower the risk will be of dental disease. The best ways to prevent dental disease are feeding a diet specifically designed for this purpose such as the Royal Canin Dental diet, regular brushing with a pet toothpaste and providing appropriate chewing materials such as the CET dental chews (check for the VOHC seal of approval for any dental product).
If dental disease is already present we may need to perform a cleaning with an assessment and treatment of diseased teeth. If not instituted yet a dental homecare plan should be set in place to prevent subsequent reformation of tartar and infection.
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