Dental Health in Veterinary Medicine

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Dental Health in Veterinary Medicine
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What do animals use their teeth for?

• Chewing
• Catching prey
• Self defense

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What do vets look for in animal teeth?

• Look for signs of disease
• Look for broken and/or missing teeth
• Look for occlusal relationships
• Approximate the age of the animal

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How about these?
See slide note
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Do animals get dental disease?

• Periodontal disease affects 85 of cats and dogs
  over 5 years of age

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How can veterinarians tell if an animal has tooth
pain?

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What can dental disease do to my pet?

• Cause pain
• Result in tooth loss
• Make eating difficult
• Lead to infections
• Lead to inactivity

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What causes periodontal disease?

• Bacteria forms plaques on the teeth
• Plaque hardens to form calculus
• Plaque starts to touch the gums
• Bacteria and immune system release destructive
  chemicals
• Destroys the attachment of the tooth to the gum

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Healthy gums

• Pink gums
• Smooth
• Shiny

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Stage 1 Periodontal disease

• Red gums
• Swollen gums

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Stage 2 Periodontal disease

• Infection around the teeth
• Shallow pockets
• Bone loss

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Stage 3 4 Periodontal disease

• Deep pockets
• Bone loss
• Loose teeth

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How can we prevent periodontal disease?

• Any ideas?

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How can I help my pet?

• Brush your pets teeth!
• Lift lips
• Rub their gums and teeth
• Brush gently with a finger brush or soft
  toothbrush
• Brush gently with pet toothpaste on the
  fingerbrush or toothbrush

Get your vet to show you how and do it only under
parental supervision so you dont cause harm.
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Pet toothpaste

• Some is flavored to taste like food
• Does not contain fluoride. DO YOU KNOW WHY?
• Contains enzymes. DO YOU KNOW WHY?

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Pet chew toys

• Gumabones

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Havaball Chew Toy
Pet chew toys
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Pet chew toys

• C.E.T. Dual Enzyme Chews
• Rawhide delivers mechanical action that abrades
  plaque from teeth above the gum line.
• Dual Enzyme System is activated by saliva to
  produce Hypothiocyanite ions which eliminates
  placque-forming bacteria.

• C.E.T HEXtra Chews
• Rawhide delivers mechanical action that abrades
  plaque from teeth above the gum line.
• Saliva releases Chlorhexidine to provide
  sustained antiseptic action to eliminate
  placque-forming bacteria

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• Goat Hoof

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Toothpaste Enzymes

• Enzymes are target specific (they only break down
  specific kinds of starches or proteins)
• The manufacturer may not always explain on the
  label what kinds of enzymes are in the
  toothpaste.
• How well they work in the toothpaste may be
  debatable.
• Enzymes are proteins. For more about how they
  affect
• food, see our Web curriculum modules on
  digestion
• http//peer.tamu.edu/curriculum_modules/OrganSyste
  ms/module_2/whatweknow2.htm

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What about cavities?

• Do dogs and cats get cavities? not usually.
• Do you know why? There are two main reasons.
  Hint cavities are caused by bacteria growing on
  trapped food.

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Dental Research

• Better technology for braces
• Laser imaging for diagnosing early-stage
  periodontal disease
• Zapping diseased gums with lasers
• Improved implants for missing teeth

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Human Dental Care Brushing

• Brush after every meal, certainly before and
  after a nights sleep. Rinse well.
• Bacteria in the mouth ends up irritating the
  gums, getting into bloodstream.

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Human Dental Care Brushing

• People with gum disease are more likely to have
  hardened arteries, heart attack, stroke, and even
  diabetes.
• Teeth should be cleaned twice a year in a
  dentists office.

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Human Dental Care Flossing

• Insert strip of floss between each pair of teeth.
• Work back and forth, up and down.
• Rinse (note if you see residue even after
  brushing) See animation

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Water Picks

• Direct spray between each pair of
  teeth and front and back surfaces.
• Note if any residue appears in the water as it
  drains out of your mouth. If brushing and
  flossing dont get it all, you may need to use
  water picks routinely.

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Example NIH Research in Dentistry

• Using bacterial gene sequences to identify
  strains that cause rapid tooth decay.

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Plan for the study
Filling of an old cavity
New cavity forming

• Oral bacteria in a large group of
  racially/ethnically diverse children will be
  tested to see if the bacterial gene sequence can
  predict which children will get severe cavities.

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Expected benefit

• Early identification of children at risk can lead
  to vigorous preventive treatment.
• Teeth of such children can be sealed shortly
  after teeth emerge.

Molar tooth showing deep grooves that act as
traps for food and bacteria.
Molar tooth with grooves filled with protective
sealant
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May I answer your questions?