Cat tooth care is essential

I am fortunate to currently share my life with four wonderful, idiosyncratic cats. Three of them just had professional, veterinarian-administered teeth cleanings, all with dramatically different outcomes and findings. I have renewed my commitment to taking their dental health as seriously as I take my own.

Periodontal disease is the most common disease that affects our feline and canine friends. 90%-95% of cats and dogs over the age of 2 years have accumulated enough dental plaque between the tooth and gum to allow bacteria to thrive and prosper, hardening into tartar.

This build up of plaque and tartar around the gums and the resultant growth of bacteria lead to the first stage of periodontal disease in cats; gingivitis - inflammation of the gums. The gums of a healthy cat will be pink in color, firm to the touch, and closely attached to the teeth. While cats are able to tolerate mild cases of gingivitis, once it has progressed to the stage in which cats are drooling, unable to eat comfortably (Gracie; approximately 11 years of age), and display horrid breath (Walter; four years, and Willie; nine years), you will likely find the gums to be swollen, reddened, and perhaps even bleeding (Gracie and Willie). Willie's gingivitis was so severe that he had to take oral antibiotics for a week following his cleaning.

If not treated promptly, a case of gingivitis can quickly turn into periodontitis; inflammation around the teeth. Here the bacteria form pockets of infection around the teeth and destroy the supporting tissue, causing painful abscesses and potential tooth loss. This was certainly the case with Gracie. Because she has hyperthyroidism and has not been stable enough for the last year and a half to undergo the required anesthesia, by the time she was able to endure the dental cleaning she needed five of her 30 adult teeth extracted. While she was clearly in much pain for the first three days following her ordeal, she has fully recovered and is able to eat dry cat food comfortably for the first time in months.

It is crucial to understand that periodontal disease affects not only the teeth and gums of our beloved fur friends but also has the potential to cause serious, even fatal, illnesses as the proliferating bacteria enter the bloodstream through the bleeding gums and wreak havoc in the liver, kidneys, or heart. I suspect that this may have been the case with Merlin, who I lost last year to a sudden and inexplicable case of pyelonephritis (a fatal bacterial infection of the kidneys). While his teeth were cleaned two years prior, I suspect that wasn't enough, but I will never know for certain.

While cats do not experience cavities in the human sense of the word, they do develop cervical line lesions. For reasons unknown, the tooth and its root dissolve and the erosion causes cats intense pain as it penetrates the enamel of the tooth and enters into the middle section where the blood vessels and nerves are located. These lesions most often develop just below the gums, also contributing to gingivitis. 45%-85% of cats over four years of age have one or more of these lesions. Gracie had several that led to her five extractions, the only form of treatment left when the lesions are in the advanced stages. She may have to endure one more extraction next year for a less serious existing lesion.

So what constitutes preventive feline dental health steps we can take at home? Studies show that regular and weekly brushing of the teeth is the most effective way to prevent plaque build up. A soft bristled nylon toothbrush can be used, or even cotton swabs or gauze wrapped around your finger. Use only special dental preparations made for cats. Never use human toothpaste or baking soda.

But, frankly, I am not willing to brush four sets of teeth every week (not to even mention the dog's). While my cats primarily eat high quality dry food (with a can of "wet" food shared among the four in the evening), I have also begun to incorporate a special dry dental food that my veterinarian sent me home with. The literature promises that including just a small amount of this larger and more hardened kibble in the diet is as effective as weekly brushings in removing plaque and tartar from the teeth.

All of my cats were instructed to return for annual dental treatments, and I have promised all of us that I will make sure they follow through.