pet health Archives - The Wealthy Dentist

Dentist Performs Sedation Dentistry on a 425 Pound Cat (video)

Some sedation dentistry treatments require that dentists make house calls.

Especially when you are Freckles, a 16-year-old liger (a hybrid cross between a male lion and a tigress), who is one of the oldest ligers in the world.

When she was rescued from a failed backyard sanctuary in Mississippi, handlers noticed that she had a big hole in her jowl.

She was given antibiotics in case it was just an injury, but once she became calm enough in her new rescue environment the staff noticed that she was suffering from several broken teeth.

Caged cats will often break off their teeth trying to chew their way out of their prison cells and when she was left behind to die in Mississippi.

Luckily a dentist came to her rescue and Big Cat Rescue filmed the sedation dentistry procedure —

Dental Implants for Pets? No, Not Really

Dental implants are the best replacement for missing teeth, and most dental patients know this.

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.