Cats get dental disease too!

This is Sadie.  She is a much loved member of her family.  She has chronic kidney disease, but is doing great.  (She is a little sleepy from the pre-medication as she would not stay still for her pre-operative photo session!)

My posts thus far have focused on dogs (plus one Lemur) so I want to give some examples from the feline species.  Cats have dental problems that are similar to dogs, although cats are more prone to a condition called tooth resorption.  Sadie was referred because the family veterinarian discovered this during a dental cleaning.

The canine tooth on this upper jaw is obviously fractured and the surrounding bone is enlarged.  The radiographs looked like this.

The bone surrounding the tooth has been destroyed over time by the infection that resulted from the pulp canal being exposed.  The tooth died and the root is also being destroyed. 
The treatment was surgical extraction of the tooth and removal of all the diseased tissue.  Here is how it looked after surgery.

And here is Sadie about one hour after recovering from anesthesia.  She woke up hungry!

Sadie was a pleasure to treat.  I am sure she will feel much better with the diseased teeth gone.