Silent Suffering: the hidden danger of dental disease in pets!
Dr Carly Cheung
Dr Carly Cheung from the North Croydon Veterinary Clinic is passionate about educating pet owners on the importance of dental health. With extensive experience in veterinary dentistry, she has seen firsthand how untreated dental disease can lead to pain, infection and other serious health complications. She has put together the following information for pet owners in the hope that she can bring more awareness to this preventable condition.
Dental disease is one of the most common issues that we see in dogs and cats at our clinic, in both young and old pets alike. Young dogs may suffer from retained baby teeth or a poorly aligned jaw that can result in crowding of the teeth or eruption of adult teeth in the wrong areas, for example a lower canine tooth that grows inwards and pushes up onto the hard palate of the mouth. Crowded teeth and retained baby teeth often result in the accumulation of plaque, tartar and worsening dental disease.
A retained baby canine causing tartar accumulation and gum disease affecting both the baby and adult canine teeth.
Plaque is formed when bacteria in the mouth mixes with saliva. It forms a softy slimy layer on the teeth that can be easily removed manually (with an abrasive diet, toothbrush or wipe). If plaque is not removed as it forms, after a few days it mineralizes into hard tartar, which is darker in colour and unable to be removed with simple brushing. Over time, the gums become inflamed in response to the bacteria and tartar, resulting in gingivitis (inflamed gums that bleed easily) and bone and ligament loss around the affected tooth. Ultimately, if left untreated, these teeth may develop tooth root abscesses or simply rot and fall out.
The scary thing about dental disease is that it doesn’t just affect the mouth. As the gums become more inflamed, there is an increased blood supply to them. This blood flow can potentially transport nasty bacteria from the mouth through the blood stream and set up infection in other organs. The liver, kidneys and heart are the organs most commonly affected in this manner. To put it simply, bad teeth can lead to heart disease, kidney failure and other more life-threatening health issues seemingly far away from the mouth.
Many owners are shocked when we point out the degree of dental disease in their pet – some owners don’t realise that their pet’s teeth should still be pearly white instead of darker brown, and many owners are not in the routine of lifting and retracting their pet’s upper lips to better inspect the teeth at the back of the mouth. Most pets with dental disease will power on eating and behaving as normal, with the only clue being the development of increasingly bad breath. Occasionally, pets will exhibit additional symptoms such as dribbling excessively, pawing or rubbing at the mouth, tenderness with eating hard foods or bleeding from the gums.
Dog’s mouth before dental procedure
Once we have diagnosed dental disease in a patient, we then need to work out how best to remedy the situation. In early stages, owner intervention can be enough to improve things. This can involve encouraging more mechanical abrasion of the teeth through dietary methods (cutting out wet food in the diet, feeding dental dry foods, offering dental chew treats under supervision). Regular brushing or wiping of the teeth can help remove plaque and prevent further build-up provided it is done frequently enough (ideally at least every couple of days).
More advanced dental disease will need work under anaesthesia, often with dental x-rays taken first to ascertain the level of dental disease present below the gumline. Any teeth deemed too damaged to save are removed. Remaining teeth have the brittle tartar cracked off manually before being cleaned with an ultrasonic scaler similar to that used in human dentistry. The teeth are then polished clean and the mouth rinsed out. Once the mouth has healed adequately, we then recommend implementing the dental hygiene methods mentioned above to try and prevent future dental work being required.
Dog’s mouth after dental procedure
If you have any concerns about your pet’s dental health, it is best to get them seen to sooner than later. A happy mouth is much more likely to lead to a healthier life, as well as making licks and kisses from your beloved pet much more acceptable!