1. Dental Health in Veterinary Medicine

2. What do animals use their teeth for?
Chewing
Catching prey
Self defense

3. 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
Occlusal relationships – how the teeth fit together when the mouth is closed. Improper relationships lead to problems grasping food, traumatic damage to soft tissues or abnormal wear on teeth.

4. *
See slide note
How about these?
The photo on the left is a young dog with normal adult dentition, while the photo on the right is from a puppy with normal deciduous dentition

5. Do animals get dental disease?
Periodontal disease affects 85% of cats and dogs over 5 years of age
Explain in lay terms what periodontal disease is. Then pause and ask class what they think the consequences of periodontal disease might be.

6. How can veterinarians tell if an animal has tooth pain?*
How can veterinarians tell if an animal has tooth pain?
Periodontal disease may be bad enough to be evident. Animals may wince when palpating the mouth or hitting a suspect tooth. They also may not eat much or even spit out food they have tried to eat.

7. What can dental disease do to my pet?
Cause pain
Result in tooth loss
Make eating difficult
Lead to infections
Lead to inactivity

8. What causes periodontal disease?*
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
Explain what is meant by “plaque” and “calculus”

9. * Healthy gums Pink gums Smooth Shiny
Explain the x-ray. Discuss why the teeth look normal.

10. Stage 1 – Periodontal disease
Red gums
Swollen gums

11. Stage 2 – Periodontal disease
Infection around the teeth
Shallow pockets
Bone loss
Explain the x-ray

12. Stage 3 & 4 – Periodontal disease*
Stage 3 & 4 – Periodontal disease
Deep pockets
Bone loss
Loose teeth
Explain the picture and the x-ray, pointing out that the black spaces contain air and indicate severe bone and tooth loss.

13. How can we prevent periodontal disease?*
Any ideas?
Don’t let tarter build up. Get teeth cleaned by a veterinarian. Brush teeth of pets using a toothpaste designed for pets. Some people say letting pets chew on bones or dog biscuits helps. But don’t let them have chicken bones, because they splinter and cause great damage in the digestive tract. Don’t give pets any chew-toy or bone that would hurt if tapped directly on your own knee cap.

14. * How can I help my pet? Brush your pet’s 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
Explain what a finger brush is and where you can get one. Explain why pet toothpaste is preferred to human toothpaste (human toothpaste has toxic chemicals, and animals can’t rinse out their mouth like humans do).
Get your vet to show you how and do it only under parental supervision so you don’t cause harm.

15. * Pet toothpaste Some is flavored to taste like food
Does not contain fluoride. DO YOU KNOW WHY?
Contains enzymes. DO YOU KNOW WHY?
Since pets can’t swish the tootpaste around in their mouth and spit it out, they have to swallow it. Fluoride, as well as other chemicals in toothpaste, could build up to toxic levels in their body. Remember, with chemicals, dose makes the poison. That is, all chemicals are toxic in large enough dose, but many chemicals are beneficial in small amounts.
Enzymes can break down starches and proteins. The idea is to get the foods broken down so they don’t linger in the mouth as long to create a medium for bacteria to grow in.

16. Pet chew toys
Gumabones®

17. Pet chew toys
Havaball Chew Toy

18. Pet chew toys C.E.T. Dual Enzyme Chews C.E.T HEXtra 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

19. Goat Hoof
These chews sold at pet stores BREAK teeth

20. 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:

21. What about cavities? Do dogs and cats get cavities? … not usually.*
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.
Causes of cavities in humans: 1) Inadequate brushing and flossing after meals. 2) Eating too much sugar (bacteria love to feed on sugar)
Photo source:

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

23. Human Dental Care: Brushing
Brush after every meal, certainly before and after a night’s sleep. Rinse well.
Bacteria in the mouth ends up irritating the gums, getting into bloodstream.

24. 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 dentist’s office.

25. 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

26. 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 don’t get it all, you may need to use water picks routinely.

27. Example NIH Research in Dentistry*
Example NIH Research in Dentistry
Using bacterial gene sequences to identify strains that cause rapid tooth decay.
Dr. Page Caufield, a dental school professor, and his team of five dental researchers receive 5-year NIH grant to use gene sequencing to identify strains of bacteria that cause rapid development of cavities. Earlier studies in this lab showed that babies pick up the bacterium from their mothers during birth.
As baby teeth emerge, some strains of bacteria can eat the teeth away in less than a year. Such a strain was found in a group of 50 medically underserved Hispanic children in New York City. This strain had gene sequences that were present in the bacteria of all 50 children.

28. 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.

29. 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.
Sealing provides a barrier between teeth and the bacterial-containing plaque (the yellow-white film that forms on teeth).
Sealant used is a bonding plastic resin.
Molar tooth showing deep grooves that act as traps for food and bacteria.
Molar tooth with grooves filled with protective sealant

30. May I answer your questions?