Fallacies Regarding Oral Diseases in Cats

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A

"Cats rarely suffer from oral lesions."

Pain is difficult to evaluate in cats by simply observing their day-to-day behavior. Dental care often leads to an improvement in the animal’s health a posteriori. Any oral lesion (periodontitis, tooth resorption, stomatitis) must therefore always be considered potentially painful.

"Dental caries is common in cats."

Caries is NEVER observed in cats. The absence of caries is thought to be due to several factors: the conical shape of the teeth, the peculiarities of the diet and the composition of the dental plaque.

"Regular scaling prevents the emergence of periodontal disease in cats."

Calculus as such does not cause inflammation of the periodontium, but rather the daily accumulation of dental plaque and the bacterial populations it is composed of. There are therefore few benefits of removing calculus. Scaling helps suppress the dental plaque in a specialized dental procedure, but it does not unfortunately address the problem of permanent plaque development on the surface of the teeth. To prevent chronic periodontitis, regular scaling must always be combined with other oral hygiene techniques.

"The regular distribution of antibiotics eliminates dental plaque."

Unfortunately not. The bacteria in dental plaque are trapped in a protective complex that strengthens their cooperation. At best, antibiotics will be effective on a very superficial part of the bacterial population. Furthermore, their regular use contributes to the emergence of new strains in the plaque that have developed resistance to antibiotics.

"You have to start looking after a cat’s teeth when it gets older."

The prevention of oral disease is always more effective when lesions are diagnosed early. Most cats less than 3 years of age already have tooth lesions that justify specific care. An inspection of the cat’s mouth should accordingly be part of every vaccination visit.

"It’s not possible to brush a cat’s teeth."

While it is clearly difficult to get owners to brush their cat’s teeth, the procedure is not impossible. Patience and motivation are often keys to surprising prophylactic results.

"Feeding a cat kibbles helps prevent the development of chronic periodontitis."

Simply giving your cat dry food kibbles will not be enough to reduce dental plaque. Kibble shape, size and texture need to be studied extensively to produce mechanical friction on the tooth surface enough to slow down plaque deposits and calculus formation. It now appears to be very important to combine this mechanical effect with the organic effect produced by nutritional factors that can act by diffusion on the composition of the oral flora.