TOA PAYOH
VETS -
Pet
owner's education - BAD BREATH
toapayohvets.com
Focus: Small animals
- dogs, cats, hamsters, rabbits.
Date:
25 July, 2005
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Periodontal disease (bacterial
infection of the gums) is the most common infectious disease in dogs and
cats. Bad breath is the common complaint but most time-pressed owners
don't have time to get their pets treated by the veterinarian. The
bacteria multiply and spread via the blood stream to the hart, liver and
kidneys. If there is no regular dental care, more bacteria germs are
produced and the internal organs can be severely damaged, shortening the
life of your pets and giving them painful tooth-aches (not eating
properly). |
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Periodontal
Disease
You don't need to live with bad breath in your dog or cat.
Get a yearly dental check up for your best friend.
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0520602Singapore old cat tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontitis, pet
health and welfare educational for animal lovers, excerpts from
Be Kind To Pets, sponsored by AsiaHomes
Internet. Written in Jun 30, 2002.
The cat with the loose tongue
"This stray cat's tongue has been hanging out the front of mouth for
the past few weeks. What's wrong with him, doc?" asked Ms Chow who
was concerned as she fed it regularly downstairs after her office
work at the government ministry in charge of problem teenagers
who "stray" after schools, the latch-key kids of Singapore.
These kids have no purpose in life and mix with bad company, Ms Chow
had told me. Staring at each other could provoke a fight between the
teen gangs.
It is an unusual habit for any normal cat. Cats like to keep
very clean and don't hang out tongues. Was its tongue
paralysed after another cat battle in the hawker centre to establish
its territory? This was a six-year-old male cat and would have
been wise to the battles for ground and female cats.
A half-inch pink tip would be seen hanging from his lips. He had no
appetite and objected strongly when I inserted the thermometer into
his rectum to check whether he had a fever. He just swiped his claws
into my right hand in less than a blink of the eye. I
got a 10-cm scratch for not being lightning fast enough.
"It may be having mouth ulcers or a severe tooth ache on one side" I
said. The tip of the tongue hung more to the right side,
as if there was acute pain on the left side. The cat's mouth
dripped saliva in thick serous streaks and there was a strong
rotting smell of bad breadth.
"You don't expect the cat to answer your question, doc?" asked Ms
Chow.
The cat clawed me again when I tried to open his mouth with my thumb
and forefinger of the right hand. No nonsense from any
veterinarian, his brown eyes with pupils dilated widely, looked
straight at me.
"Don't grip his front feet tightly as cats don't like it and get
angrier!" I advised Ms Chow who was firmly restraining the cat.
I didn't want Ms Chow to get her face scratched as that might affect
her marriage prospects. Beauty may be skin deep but a scratched face
for a young woman will disadvantage her no matter what the feminists
say.
"I have no choice but to tranquilise him with one injection into his
back muscle." I told Ms Chow. The cat did not attack her as she
distracted him with a few words.
The cat felt drowsy in 10 minutes. I put him on a gas general
anaesthesia to check for more decayed teeth. Two loose and
decayed upper left molar teeth were extracted easily within 2
seconds. The redness around the molars indicated that the gums
were infected with germs which undermine the integrity of the tissue
and causing gingivitis (infected gums). |
 Normal
molar teeth of six-year-old cats have three deep roots which anchor
them into the gum tissues firmly and cannot be extracted so easily.
The roots were decayed as you could see them on the lower left of
the picture. The lower molars of the left gums were enveloped
with a thick crust of tartar but were still strongly anchored into
the lower jaw. The tartar was removed and all the teeth were
given a ultra sonic scaling.
There were no mouth ulcers or gum tumours. The tongue no long hung
out. I don't expect to see this stray cat again as he will not
get any annual veterinary check up or booster vaccination, being a
street cat with the freedom to roam the void decks of the Housing
and Development Board precincts and the street smartness to avoid
being trapped by the government cat catchers.
Note:
Teeth problems in the domestic cat are due to genetics and the diet,
amongst other factors.
In the wild, cats e.g tigers or leopards feed on real meat which
cleans their teeth as they chew.
Some domestic cats fed soft food can suffer from severe gum and
teeth problems caused by various factors including inherited
weaknesses.
Cats, usually over 6 years old, suffer from 2 major degenerative
oral problems: periodontal diseases (gum diseases) and resorption
cavities.
In gum diseases, the necrotic mouth ulcers and bad breadth
are due to bacterial infection of the mouth. If the bacteria reaches
the back of the throat, the cat may lose its meowing voice and has a
bad breadth. Antibiotics and teeth scaling may stop the bad smell of
purulent stomatitis (mouth inflammation) but there is a need to
extract the decayed back teeth. Cats need to have their diet
modified if they don't have back teeth but they manage well.
In cervical resorption, there are cavities (holes) on the
surfaces of the back teeth, close to the gum margins. They are not
decay cavities but are caused by an auto-immune response. The
cat's body's defences destroy the teeth. The cat may lose appetite
as it is very painful. Teeth extraction is the best treatment.
Reference:
A Colour Atlas of Veterinary Dentistry and Oral Surgery" by Peter
Kertesz. Peter is a dental surgeon for people and is a dental
consultant for animal organisations and international zoos including
London and Whipsnade zoos for the past 20 years. He lectures
all over the world on veterinary dentistry. When it comes to
treating animals, Peter has strong ethics. He never performs
surgery to please the owner and only treats pets that have been
referred to him by a vet. |
Periodontal
Disease
You don't need to live with bad breath in your dog or cat.
Get a yearly dental check up for your best friend.
|
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050721Singapore old dog tooth decay, gingivitis, periodontitis, pet
health and welfare educational for animal lovers, excerpts from
Be Kind To Pets, sponsored by AsiaHomes
Internet. Written in Jun 18, 2005.
TWO DAYS TO
LIVE
"40% chances of dying
under general anaesthesia," I estimated the risk when the young lady
owner asked about her 15-year-old Miniature Schnauzer's dental
treatment which required general anaesthesia.
I had vaccinated this dog as a puppy when the young lady
was still in secondary school. Teeth braces to straighten her teeth.
Full of ideals. Now, she is a beauty. Maybe, she will be a pillar of society
in time to come as she climbs the corporate ladder single-mindedly.
"The risk is too high," the lady adjusted her cap and smoothened the
wrinkles on the sleeves of her camouflage blouse. Wearing caps seem
to be a fashion amongst the young in 2005. Also, exposed mid-riffs
in women but she was dressed conservatively.
Now, her parents had given her an ultimatum. Mum told me that the
father had given her one day to decide after I had deferred
euthanasia.
The old dog had just 2
days of antibiotics when I advised 10 days on antibiotics before
dental extraction to give this dog a better chance of survival after
the treatment. Antibioitcs would get rid of the foul smelling
bacteria in the mouth. But there was no such luxury of time.
He just had two days to live.
The parents felt that he had too much suffering. He had a bleeding
mouth, bad breadth, difficulty in eating and a 10-cm circular gum tumour behind his upper front teeth, on the hard palate. Mouth
tumours usually occur if a dog had bad oral health.
Sometimes, the gum tissue enlarge and you can see thick pink lumps.
This condition is called hyperplastic gingivitis and is
common in some breeds.
Be
Kind to Pets - Educational picture No. 272. Jun 18, 2005.
A young lady's dilemma. Let the parents euthanase an old friend
when she's working
or risk him dying on theperating table? The vet had to
decide for her as there were strong parental preference for
euthanasia to relieve his suffering. |
Even the dog groomer refused
to groom him, the mother told me. Was the bad breadth so revolting?
Making the groomer wanting to puke?
The only two persons who did not want him to be put to sleep was
this young lady and me. I had seen him as a puppy and though I did
not see him for the past decade, I did not want to euthanase him.
He
was like a long-lost friend to me whom you meet once in a blue moon.
He could not talk but there were the fond memories of his younger
days.
The mum reminded me, "Remember him? You cropped
his ears." That was 15 years ago. Cosmetic surgery was
permitted in Singapore. Now, I no longer crop any dog
ears.
The young lady had a Hobson's choice. If she did not proceed with
the dental treatment, the dog would be put to sleep on instructions
of her parents. They could go to another veterinarian if I refused
to do it.
Two days to live. I would take the parents seriously. The old
dog was suffering. His quality of life was poor. They were kind
enough to tolerate the bad breadth for so many years. Their
daughter was seldom at home as she worked very long hours.
Yet, a little thing like dental extraction of decayed teeth and the
removal of his tumour would give him a much better quality of life.
The young lady wavered. No euthanasia if she was around. Yet the
old friend might die on the operating table. I was surprised that he
lived up to 15 years old. Trim. Two full cataracts whitened his eyes
if you looked at him directly. He was 90% blind. |
"You don't really have much
choices," I explained to the young lady. "Your parents could
perform a coup de grace on this dog while you are working."
She understood what I meant
about her parental pressures and her lack of time to thwart any
moves for euthanasia.
She was extremely busy
in her profession. A profession she loved as she dedicated long
hours to honing her skills and expertise in financial statements.
Her parents had decided on euthanasia. Somehow they agreed to 2 days' stay of execution
after consulting me.
"If you euthanase this dog and present to your daughter with a fait
accompli," I did advise the parents, "She may never speak to you
forever. Young adults nowadays are kinder to their pets and would
rather save them (unlike the baby boomer generation who are
thrifty-minded)."
That advice gave the old dog 2 days' reprieve and that was why I saw
this young lady and her mum today. The father had ordered a 1
day's stay of execution, her mum told me.
Now, the mouth bleeding had ceased. The
bad breadth had gone. If only this dog had regular yearly
dental check ups, he would still have good teeth and no bad breadth.
Would the young lady take
the risk? A professional who is trained to understand that 40%
chances of dying is a very high risk. I mean, if there is 40% of
losing your money in an investment, she would have had advised
against investing.
But we are talking about death. Death is final and today is judgment
day.
She hesitated. A little girl with
dangling arms and free spirits had to make a life and death
decision.
A lady with porcelain fair complexion not damaged by the tropical sunlight
was no more a little girl to others, but would always be one to me
and her parents.
What decision would she make today?
"Dogs do die on the operating table for various reasons. There are dogs in similar situations with much lower percentage of
survival," I explained. "40% is extremely high for this healthy
15-year-old."
That means 60% of similar cases will die. You can either
judge a glass as 60% empty or 40% full of water.
Be pessimistic or
optimistic. See the risks of death or the opportunities of enjoying
a higher quality of life with this old companion.
I wanted to leave her alone to decide. But there was strong parental
pressures to end this dog's life as it was suffering. And had been
suffering for a long time. "You are not at home most of the time,"
Mum had admonished her. "But it is the domestic worker who looks
after him," the young adult retorted.
This time, would the young lady make a risky decision as only she
could? It was a matter of life or death.
"Get the dental treatment,"
I advised. She nodded her head and left without a word. 15 years of
friendship would vaporise if the dog died on the operating table
today. That would be the last time she would see him alive if things
go wrong.
The dog was put under gas anaesthesia. No tranquiliser. The
few decayed teeth were extracted. Only two canine teeth were strong
and good.
Lots of bleeding. The hard palate tumour was removed. More bleeding
from the gums and nostrils. The bleeding was not life-threatening
but could be inhaled into the lungs causing pneumonia.
The dog woke up almost immediately after the dental treatment. He
was in good health as other senior dogs would have taken a longer
time to wake up.
I hope he lives up to 20 years old. I doubt I will ever see him again. Just as I had not seen him for the past
decade. Had he been to another veterinarian, this dog would have
been put to sleep. That would have been the usual advice. Sound
advice but not entirely satisfactory for this lady owner. For some
reason, the parents came to me.
All ended well but a happy ending in all dental treatment of old
dogs is not guaranteed. All veterinarians will suffer from
some deaths in such cases and these are distressing to both parties.
For this young lady, there is now a close friend to come home to after the long hours at the office.
After a hard day's work, the best friend to come home to. He
was the one who waited for the young lady to return home after long
hours of work. I hope he would live his life for a few more good
years and make her happy.
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296.
Ju1 22, 2005. Regular dental scaling means that the dog's
teeth will last for more than 10 years. A thumb toothbrush may be
useful if your dog dislikes the dog's toothbrush for the back teeth.
Ask your vet. |
The
back teeth gets more plaques as the dog grows older, as in this
Silkie Terrier. It is better late than never to do dental scaling.
If there is further delay, the back teeth decay and the teeth just
drop off. The dog just can't tell you he is having daily tooth
aches. You can tolerate his bad breadth but he is suffering
from pain. |
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