Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
disease in their mouths have noticeably bad breath. Bad breath can be
an indicator of dental disease, gum disease or problems with the tongue.
Even if you perform routine dental care on your cat, dental disease
can occur. A veterinarian should perform a dental exam on your cat at
least once a year and evaluate the teeth, tongue and gums. Just as some
people have bad teeth, some cats naturally have bad teeth. Others devel-
op bad teeth because of diet and lack of care. Teeth can break, crack,
develop erosions, abscess and fall out on their own. Owners are some-
times shocked when I show them that their cat is missing teeth. They
cannot believe how well their cat is eating. Decreased appetite or prob-
lems eating are not always present in oral disease, and cats with signifi-
cant infection or inflammation in their mouths may eat normally.
Infections from the mouth can get into the blood and spread to
other organ systems, so regardless of age, cats with dental disease must
be treated. Before performing any dental procedures, a cat's general
health and metabolic state should be assessed and stabilized.
Gum Disease
The signs of gingivitis or gum disease are red or swollen gums, gums
growing up and over teeth, drooling, bad breath and inflammation at
the corners of the mouth, making the mouth difficult to open.
Similar to other disease processes, the longer gum disease persists,
the harder it is to control or cure. Early intervention against gum dis-
ease is very helpful. When significant gum disease is present, causes to
consider are:
•
Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV)
•
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV)
•
Tooth infection
•
Inflammatory condition
•
Neoplasia
A cat with bad gums should be tested for FeLV and FIV. If these
tests are negative, the teeth should be cleaned and any affected teeth
repaired or removed. A gum biopsy and treatment with antibiotics may
be necessary if there is significant gingivitis.The biopsy results can then
guide any further treatment.
There is a group of inflammatory conditions of unknown origin
that can cause severe dental disease and oral inflammation. An example
