Our pets can hide problems really well
When we break a tooth or have any pain we see a dentist straight away to get it checked. But would you know if your pet had pain in their mouth? Probably not.
Even with a cracked tooth or severe dental disease, cats and dogs will continue to wag their tails, run around and eat. Cats and dogs have a natural animal instinct to hide pain and signs of weakness in order to survive. Do not wait for your pet to stop eating to address their dental issues.
A cat patient of ours came in to see us because he had a wound on his head after getting into a cat fight. As a general check up we also looked at his skin, arms and legs, back, tummy, heart, lungs, eyes, ears and teeth. It was found that he had a tooth root abscess and a very high temperature.

We immediately starting him on pain relief and antibiotics and performed a dental on him to clean the area up and remove the affected tooth. When we cleaned all of the pus away we were able to see that the tooth was broken.
When a tooth is broken, bacteria from the mouth can enter the inner pulp cavity that contains the blood vessels and nerves before spreading to the roots. It causes extreme pain. In this case, the pus built up so much that it burst through the cat’s gum. This cat was eating normally and the owners wouldn’t have had a clue that he was in pain.

Please ensure you check your pet’s mouth regularly. If you can’t do this properly, Vet HQ runs a gold class program where a nurse does a monthly weight check, ear clean, teeth check, express anal glands and clip nails for just $180 per year. It is well worth $15 per month to potentially save your pet from experiencing illness and discomfort.

The fractured tooth.                  Tooth root abscess in a cat.