Dental disease is a common finding in pet dogs and cats. Often there are breed predispositions to poor dental health and it is worth knowing how to prevent and treat this condition.

As vets one of the commonest underestimated conditions in pets is dental disease. Frequently owners believe that, because their pet is still eating, it is not a major problem. However dental disease causes significant pain and the bacteria associated with it can adversely affect the heart and kidneys.

Certain breeds such as chihuahuas, dachshunds and greyhounds frequently present with dental disease and it is thought that their saliva may be less effective at keeping the mouth environment healthy.

Preventive care to maintain a healthy mouth is the best way to prevent tartar forming. Brushing teeth is the ‘gold standard’ but usually needs to be started early for your pet to tolerate brushing. Not all pets allow brushing so other alternatives such as mouth washes and dental chews may be helpful though are much less effective.

Animals require a general anaesthetic for dental treatment rather than sedation. Scaling teeth requires water cooling and protecting the airway with a breathing tube is essential to avoid inhalation. Most dogs will not tolerate effective treatment under sedation and the pain involved in extractions exceeds the pain-relieving effects of sedation medication. Scaling carried out in conscious dogs does not eliminate tartar under the gum line (because this area is very sensitive) which is where most oral bacterial infections are located.

When completing dental treatment, we are often asked not to remove teeth or only to remove teeth if absolutely necessary. I can assure you that all vets only remove loose and severely diseased teeth. An animal will be much better off with no teeth than with chronically painful and infected teeth. Many animals happily eat biscuits, once healing is complete, after even quite extensive extractions.

Typical signs of dental disease are smelly breath and inflamed gums. Other symptoms such as drooling, bleeding, missing teeth, difficulty eating or changes in what the animal chooses to eat can all be signs of dental disease. Some dogs will develop a cough or enlarged glands in their neck and the pain can make them grumpy or lose weight.
Cats can develop a type of dental disease which causes them to reabsorb enamel off their teeth. This can be caused by an abnormality of the immune system. These lesions cause significant pain. Treatment involves removing all affected teeth.

Stomatitis is another condition in cats which causes severe inflammation and pain often with secondary infections. Underlying causes include viral infections and immune conditions. Removing all the teeth may be curative for cats with recurrent stomatitis but this can be a difficult condition to manage.

When considering dental disease in pets think what it feels like if we have a painful mouth. Pets feel pain in the same way as we do and dental disease causes pain – often it is only after dental treatment that you see the difference in your pet’s behaviour.