Cats have teeth too

Remember when your pets didn't have teeth? We all remember when cats and dogs went to the vet annually like clockwork, got vaccinated, got a free rubdown by their veterinarian and were sent out the door with a recommendation to be seen again next year.

Times have changed. Veterirnarians have upped their game, and pets are the better for it. Also, It turns out that pets do, indeed, have teeth. And those teeth get dirty, infected and broken just like ours do. It also turns out that if we are proactive we can keep them healthier in the long run.

With one caveat, and sadly that caveat is cats. Yes cats do get tartar; they do get infections, and if they do enough in-home acrobatics they may even break a tooth now and again. Cats also get cavities. Unlike our cavities which our dentist likes to cruelly and unfairly pin on our candy and soda addictions, cats' cavities seem to be caused by bad genetics and some viral diseases.

Seem to be, because we (the veterinary profession) has yet to completely nail down the cause(s). We know genetics plays some roll because Asian cats (Siamese, Burmese, etc..) are notoriously prone to these cavities.

Which, whoops, brings us to the real name of kitty cat cavities, which is not kitty cat cavities, even though that sounds awesome, and I would have named it that, but I'm not a veterinarian. Veterinarians when given half a chance to give something a complicated name will jump at it, so: Feline Oral Resorptive Lesions (FORLs)

Resorptive because unlike our own cavities these ouchy guys start down below the gum line when the body begins destroying the tooth from the roots. Often all we see on exam is redness at the gum line.

However, if you've ever lost a filling, you know that these things hurt. Which brings us to regular veterinary visits (you know I was going there). We can't diagnose what we don't see, and guess what, your cat isn't going to yowl, scream or starve itself to show you it has a painful mouth.

At every visit we look in your cat's mouth. We do this not merely to annoy the cat (though that is an added bonus) but to look at the teeth and assess the gums.

Red gums equals pain, and both of us know that no pet should ever be in pain if we can help it. So, once again, if you cat has not seen a vet, any vet, in a while, make an appointment now. Your cat will thank you for it - well not really, but she will be healthier for it.

Our Winner! Maya Martin

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