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The Valley News • www.myvalleynews.com • February 3, 2012


ANIMALS Maintain your pet’s oral health


Dr. Vanessa Teresi Special to the Valley News


Everyone with dogs and cats


has experience with getting kisses and smelling their pet’s breath. However, this can sometimes be an owner’s worst nightmare because their pet’s mouth smells bad. This develops as the amount of bacteria and tartar grows in the mouth leading to breath that becomes malodorous, and often, pets are brought into


their veterinarian as a result of this. This is called periodontal disease and is quite common in all animals, and even people, and needs to be addressed. Periodontal disease is one of


the most common conditions in pets that we see, but it is often overlooked. Most people think that it is normal for animals to have bad breath, but it is actually a result of an infection in the mouth. As the infection gets worse, so does the smell.


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Your pet’s dental health is important to his overall health and happiness. Bad breath could be a sign of dental disease. Call us today for more information or to schedule a checkup and cleaning.


www.mountainviewveterinarians.com Infection in the mouth usually


starts as gingivitis, which is inflammation of the gum tissue; similar to what happens in people. If the infection worsens, without treatment, plaque will begin to form. This then leads to the formation of tartar, also known as calculus, which looks like a yellow to brown sticky material. As this tartar accumulates, it will push the gum tissue back and begin to expose the tooth roots, leading to severe infection, and, if left untreated, this infection will end up destroying the tooth- ending with the need to remove the affected teeth. As this periodontal disease


progresses, and if left untreated, the bacteria makes its way into the blood stream and from here can wreak havoc on the body’s organs. As this progresses, pets may occasionally gag or even vomit food from choking to prevent chewing, or food may start to fall out on one side because of the severity of disease. This can take anywhere from months to years to show up, but the infection is present the entire time causing organ damage. The most commonly affected


organ is the heart in which the valves can be damaged, ultimately leading to heart failure. Heart disease can happen in both dogs and cats, but it is most commonly seen in small breed dogs and older cats. In addition, blood may actually be seen in the saliva in dogs with very severe infections, or even teeth may fall out on their own. This is a sign of a severely infected mouth as this is not normal except in puppies and kittens as they lose their baby teeth. Adults should not be losing teeth, and this is a red flag for something seriously wrong and should be evaluated by your veterinarian as soon as possible. Small breed dogs are already


ANIMAL RESCUE KOMPANY is accepting entire litters of puppies under 10 weeks old. All puppies will be altered, vaccinated and place in loving homes. We will then spay your mama dog for free!


Please visit our website www.AnimalRescueKompany.org to make donations or sponsorship packages to assist us in saving homeless pets.


We are also in need of any families willing to foster a mama and her litter. We will supply all food, kennels, blankets, etc. to make the foster arrangement successful!


For relinquishing a litter of puppies/kittens, please call Joy 951.677.5998


prone to periodontal disease genetically, but several other causes can lead to progression of this condition. These reasons include wet food diets, home cooked diets, excessive table scraps, and never going outside. The lack of dry food diets in small dogs leads to a decrease in the mechanical action of teeth cleaning resulting in more tartar. This is especially true of the small breed dogs that are fed home-cooked diets because it is high in moisture and acts like a wet food. In addition, the home-cooked


diets are often not sufficient in supplying the right amount of vitamins and minerals which can lead to loss of the actual jaw


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Courtesy photo


bone density that then leads to tooth decay. Periodontal disease and loss of bone density of the jaw can also happen if dogs are kept indoors at all times with no outdoor exposure. If never exposed to sunshine, rickets and weakening of the jaw-bone can often occur, leading to severe irreparable damage. Cats seem to be unaffected by being indoors at all times, especially if fed good quality cat foods, as these are all appropriately supplemented with vitamins and minerals. Large breed dogs tend to have


less dental disease, but they can suffer from it as well. They can be affected by certain toys given to them, for example, tennis balls are actually very abrasive, and over time, can wear away the protective enamel, leading to tooth decay. In addition, certain diseases like Distemper and Parvovirus can lead to damage to the protective enamel during the developmental stages in affected puppies. Certain breeds are more affected than others and this is also true for cats. For example, in dogs, sight hounds like Greyhounds and their relatives are more prone to tooth decay. In cats, purebred cats are much more prone to gingivitis and periodontal disease as well. All animals can get tartar and tooth infections and keeping a close eye on pets is the best way to catch this disease early for treatment. Treatment of periodontal


disease involves cleaning the pet’s teeth and depending on the severity of the disease, removing severely affected teeth. This goes for both cats and dogs, and generally requires anesthesia to be able to clean below the gum line, especially if any extractions are expected. Once the pet is under anesthesia,


a thorough evaluation can be done to determine the severity of the infection. Sometimes, it will be just gingivitis, which a thorough cleaning will resolve.


If infection is present, especially at the tooth root level, those teeth are best removed to resolve the infection and prevent it from spreading. Once the teeth have been cleaned and any infected teeth removed, with antibiotics and pain medication, full recovery is expected unless other body organs have been affected. Now the maintenance aspect of oral disease can begin. In an ideal world, all pets


would have their teeth brushed twice daily like people do for themselves. In reality, very few veterinarians expect this of pet owners because it is not realistic whether due to time or in some instances, the owners may get hurt trying to brush their pet’s teeth. Total prevention of oral disease may not be possible, but it can definitely be slowed down significantly with good nutrition, good use of toys, like antler bones for dogs, dry food, and routine veterinary dental care. For most people though, it comes down to an annual exam with your veterinarian to monitor your pets’ oral health and to make suggestions. This is because most pets will not show signs of discomfort from infections in the mouth as they are designed to hide this until it’s too late. Most animals will eat you out of house and home, as this is their primary instinct to survive. Only in the most severe stages of tooth decay will we see animals stop eating. This is why it is so important to have your pets checked by a veterinarian to let you know what is going on in your pet’s mouth. The mouth is one of the most important parts of your pet’s anatomy, and it is important that we keep it as healthy as possible to ensure a good healthy life. Dr. Teresi is a veterinarian


at Mountainview Small Animal Hospital. Small Animal Hospital is located at 151 Diamond Drive in Lake Elsinore. They can be reached at (951) 674-1475.


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