Dr. Cornelia Fricke

VETERINARY PRACTICE & PET DENTIST

AND WHY DENTAL X-RAYS ARE IMPORTANT

What are resorptive lesions in cats?

By far the most common dental disease in cats are so-called resorptive lesions (RL) or FORL. This is a breakdown of tooth substance that usually starts in the tooth root area and then spreads to the entire tooth.

At first, these changes are not visible in the mouth, but they do lead to toothache in the cat.

Why we x-ray your cat's teeth

We have decided to use dental x-rays in order to detect this early stage and spare our patients this pain and to find and extract diseased teeth in a targeted manner.

Stages of the disease

The different stages of the disease are as follows:

Source: AVDC.org, stages tooth resorption

It is not until the late stage 2 or 3 that the dental changes in the oral cavity begin to become visible due to the ingrowth of mucous membrane and inflammation of the gums.

As a pet owner, how can I recognize this disease?

The symptoms of affected animals are often unspecific. Cats are masters at hiding pain. Many animals become quieter, sleep more and groom themselves less often. Some drop their food when eating, grind their teeth or simply eat less.

When should which treatment be carried out?

Teeth should be extracted from stage 2 onwards, as the cat is suffering from pain. Unfortunately, fillings and similar tooth-preserving measures have not proved successful.

Why is it important to x-ray the teeth?

A reliable diagnosis of your cat's dental condition can only be made by means of intraoral dental x-rays, which allow the altered and painful teeth to be identified and removed. Without a more reliable diagnosis of the diseased teeth, many cats continue to suffer from dental pain because altered teeth have not been detected.    

Dental restoration procedure at our veterinary practice

In our veterinary practice, dental restoration is carried out as follows:

1.  After the patient has been put under anesthesia, we use a dental x-ray machine to take pictures of all the teeth. This tells us which teeth need to be removed and how.   
2. All the tartar is then removed using an ultrasonic scaler.   
3. The pathologically altered teeth are then exposed, divided and removed using our dental station.   
4. To allow the gums in the extraction area to heal properly, they are closed with self-dissolving sutures. This covers the tooth sockets, the exposed jawbone and accelerates wound healing.   
5. At the end of the dental restoration, the healthy teeth are polished and fluoridated, which delays the reattachment of tartar.

What can I do as a pet owner?

If it is possible for the treated animal, the teeth should then be brushed at least once a day with a toothpaste and a toothbrush for animals.

How much does a dental restoration cost?

We can only provide an estimate of the costs before the dental restoration, as it is only possible to determine which teeth need to be removed after the dental x-ray.

Our expertise as a specialized veterinary dentist

As a member of the DGT (German Society of Veterinary Dentistry), we adhere to the latest findings in this field and apply them accordingly.

Written

Dr. med. vet. Cornelia Fricke  

Specialist veterinarian and practice owner

Additional qualifications in cage, zoo and wild birds and reptiles

Veterinary densist (German Society for Animal Dentistry)

VETERINARY PRACTICE & PET DENTIST

Dr. Cornelia Fricke