We also know that devoted pet owners will spare no expense when it comes to the comfort of their pet. And so some pet owners inquire about getting dental implants for their pets.

My cat broke his upper canine tooth two years ago and had to have it extracted. Do you think a dental implant is necessary? Is this painful and expensive?

Dental implants are not available for cats anywhere in the world, to my knowledge. The bone volume in a cat's jaw is so small that it would be technically challenging and, anyway, there's very rarely a need for a tooth to be replaced. It's common for cats to have missing teeth and they nearly always manage to live normally with no adverse consequences, continuing to hunt and even eat dried food. I have seen cats with all their teeth extracted with no major impact on their lives.

In a small proportion of cases, loss of the upper canine tooth in a cat can lead to the lower canine tooth catching the upper lip, causing an abrasion. If this is happening, there are other ways of dealing with this that your vet can explain. Dental implants
have been done in dogs and cost more than £5,000 for each procedure. They are rarely necessary.

- Pete Wedderburn, “Pet Health” in the UK’s Telegraph

Given that the cost of dental implants keeps many people from dental implant therapy, it's somehow reassuring that tooth implant dentistry for cats and dogs isn't exactly a booming business.

Across the globe, people are tightening their purse strings. An article in the Irish Times describes some penny-pinching measures people are taking, and one line was particularly remarkable: “A woman said that she was cancelling her own dental checkup because her dog needed one too, and she couldn’t afford both.”

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