Zazu belongs to our Nurse Sarah and came in for a routine dental a few weeks ago. Zazu was diagnosed with resorptive lesions during a routine dental scale and polish, dental x-rays revealed her tooth roots were resorbing!
Resorptive lesions are most commonly seen in cats, however the condition has been reported in dogs as well, though not to a great extent. Resorptive lesions are a bigger problem than we may think, they eat away at the tooth until it completely disappears.
Resorptive lesions are initially seen as little erosions along the gumline associated with gum inflammation, these lesions can progress to large holes in the teeth, eventually destroying more of the tooth. Resorptive lesions can also be extremely painful, signs of discomfort include, but are not limited to:
- Increased salivation
- Difficulty eating
- Pawing at the mouth
- Halitosis (bad breath)
However, some pets may not exhibit any signs of pain at all, which was the case for Zazu! The recommended treatment for resorptive lesions is to extract any affected teeth. Zazu had multiple teeth affected by resorptive lesions on both her top and bottom jaw, Dr Annette had to perform a gingival flap. A gingival flap is a procedure in which the gums are separated from the tooth and bone and folded back temporarily to allow access to the roots of the tooth. Once this flap was created Dr Annette was able to successfully remove the affected teeth after the teeth had been removed the gumline was sutured back together. After only a week of soft food and pain relief, Zazu was back to her normal self.
Regular dental cleans are so important, we recommend 6 monthly dental checks to assess your pets dental health and hygiene, at these checks we can let you know if and when your pet may need there teeth cleaned. If you would like to book in for a dental check or dental procedure please do not hesitate to give us a call on (07) 3103 8432.
