Periodontal disease is a widespread problem: more than 9 in 10 adult dogs and 7 in 10 adult cats are affected.1
9 in 10 adult dogs
7 in 10 adult cats
For complete assessment of oral health, an anaesthetised oral examination with intraoral radiography is necessary. Teeth that appear grossly normal can still have clinically important findings upon radiography.2
Explore the evidence
- In one study, 28% of grossly normal teeth in dogs had clinically important radiographic findings,3 while a similar study found the figure in cats to be 42%.4
- In another study of 114 dogs presenting with active periodontal disease upon full-mouth anaesthetised examination, only 94 presented with inflammation on the visual awake examination – showing that visual awake examinations can underestimate the presence and severity of periodontal disease.5
References
1. Royal Veterinary College. Available at: https://www.rvc.ac.uk/review/Dentistry/Shared_Media/pdfs/perio_print.pdf [Accessed December 2021]. 2. Bellows J et al. 2019 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2019;55(2):49–69. 3. Verstraete FJ et al. Diagnostic value of full-mouth radiography in dogs. Am J Vet Res 1998;59(6):686–691. 4. Verstraete FJ et al. Diagnostic value of full-mouth radiography in cats. Am J Vet Res 1998;59(6):692–695. 5. Queck KE et al. Oral-fluid thiol-detection test identifies underling active periodontal disease not detected by the visual awake examination. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc 2018;54(3):132–137..