Does my Dog Have Dental Disease? If So, How Can I Recognize it? How Painful is it? OK, Then Lets Fix It! Sandra L Waugh VMD, MS
13 year old Yorkshire Terrier with severe periodontal disease. The green arrow points to exposure of the root with plaque and pus on the root. This tooth was extracted. Other dental diseases common in dogs are fractured teeth and teeth that have died without fracturing (called non-vital teeth). This occurs most commonly in larger dogs.
20 4 Legs & a Tail
Does my dog have dental disease? Over 80% of dogs over the age of 3 have some degree of periodontal disease. If your dog is 3 years of age or over and does not receive routine dental care, then it is very likely that your dog does have some degree of periodontal disease. As discussed before in 4 Legs & a Tail, periodontal disease starts with bleeding gums and ends with very loose teeth and infection in the mouth. This infection can spread to other organs in the body. Early periodontal disease can be reversed, but once bone is lost the disease can be halted but not reversed. Too much bone loss and the teeth must be extracted. Periodontal disease is very common in smaller breeds but occurs in all breeds.
7 year old German Shepherd with severe periodontal disease in the upper jaw. These teeth (yellow arrows) are not obviously diseased to the eye. The amount of tartar does not necessarily translate into the severity of the periodontal disease. I have seen periodontal disease in teeth that appeared perfectly clean and have removed large chunks of tartar from teeth that were healthy.
Summer 2018