Reviewed and fact checked by Bruce Whittle, DVM
Canine periodontal disease is a subset of dental disease. Periodontal disease is the most common disease in dogs, cats and humans with over 70% of individuals experiencing it. Despite how common this disease is, it is often ignored and many dogs are in pain. It is often dismissed as just bad doggy breath.
What is Periodontal Disease?
To understand what periodontal disease is, it is important to understand how the teeth are held within the mouth. Individual teeth are attached to their respective bony sockets by specialized ligaments called the periodontal ligaments – the word periodontal literally meaning “around the tooth”. The gum tissue surrounding the teeth covers up the areas of attachment. Early periodontal disease is termed gingivitis and refers to inflammation of the gum tissue only. The gum tissue will often appear reddened and may be a little swollen. As the disease advances, the gum tissue will become detached from the tooth resulting in a deeper space that bacteria can invade. Eventually, surrounding bone will be destroyed and the tooth will become loose.
Why is Periodontal Disease a problem for my dog?
Human patients with periodontal disease tell their dentist that periodontal disease is painful. There is no reason to think that dogs don’t experience pain with periodontal disease as well. A person with one painful tooth will likely seek dental care. It is not uncommon in smaller, older dogs who have had no previous dental care to extract fifteen or twenty or more teeth when they are finally presented for care. Surely these dogs would have called their veterinarian to fix their mouth sooner if they were able!
How will I know my dog has periodontal disease?
Most dog owners do not realize their dog has periodontal disease until they have stinky breath. Early cases may have very mild signs but advanced cases can be very painful and are obvious if you know what to look for. Here are some signs of periodontal disease in the dog:
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Stinky breath
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Pawing at face
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Tartar on teeth, though not all teeth with tartar have periodontal disease
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Sneezing – in advanced cases with bone loss resulting in a hole that extends into the nasal cavity
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Decrease in activity – this one usually goes unnoticed until the disease is treated and the dog becomes more active again
How is Periodontal Disease treated?
Fortunately, periodontal disease can be greatly decreased through a combination of professional dental care at the veterinary hospital as well as at-home preventive care. In order to do a thorough exam and treatment in the mouth, the patient must be anesthetized. While anesthesia can be scary and does carry risk, the benefit of making the mouth healthy usually outweighs this risk. When dogs receive routine dental care so have minimal disease, this risk is decreased because the procedure time is decreased. In addition, having severe periodontal disease results in bacteria constantly entering the bloodstream from the mouth and going to other organs such as the heart or kidneys where they can cause further disease, making anesthesia more risky. Your veterinarian will usually perform tests on your dog before anesthesia to make sure he or she is healthy enough for the procedure. In some cases in which dogs have serious underlying health issues but desperately need oral health care, your veterinarian may refer you to a specialist who has advanced equipment and training for maintaining anesthesia in these patients.
Professional dental care should consist of cleaning the teeth above and below the gum line, probing around each tooth with a periodontal probe to check for any pockets, taking X-ray images of all the teeth, then polishing and sealing the teeth. When periodontal disease, or any disease of the mouth for that matter, is diagnosed during the examination procedure, your veterinarian will work with you to develop and implement a suitable treatment plan for your pet. There are a number of procedures that can be performed to save teeth if periodontal disease is diagnosed early enough. Cleaning under the gumline without surgery may be sufficient with minor disease but as periodontal disease advances, it may be necessary to surgically open the tissue surrounding a tooth to more effectively clean it. Sometimes your veterinarian may place some type of graft to replace or stimulate bone around the tooth. In severe cases, the tooth may need to be extracted. In general, the four canine teeth and the two lower first molars and two upper fourth premolars, the largest teeth in the mouth, are considered the strategic teeth and are worth trying to save. While it is nice for your dog to keep all of his teeth, if a tooth becomes painful and is not one of the strategic teeth, extraction can be a good option.
After Periodontal Disease is treated, what can I do to prevent it in the future?
Home dental care can be very helpful when trying to avoid having painful periodontal disease. The gold standard is daily toothbrushing. It is important to use a pet toothpaste because our dogs do not “rinse and spit” like we do and the use of human toothpaste can cause problems if too much is swallowed. Some dogs will not tolerate tooth brushing. In these cases and owner should look for a product like a chew, wipe, dental diet or water additive that has been approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council to prevent plaque and tartar. You can search vohc.org for a list of products that have passed testing to prove they are effective. These products should be used daily for best results and your veterinarian is a good resource for help in determining which product(s) might work best for your dog.
Summary
Periodontal disease is a very widespread and painful disease of dogs, cats and humans. When the tissues surrounding a tooth become infected, bacteria can continuously get into the bloodstream and cause disease in remote organs such as the heart, lungs, and kidneys. Keeping your dog’s mouth healthy will in turn help keep the rest of its body healthier. In dentistry, as with many other facets of health care, prevention is less expensive than treating disease once it has gotten bad. Keeping your dog’s mouth healthy will also help avoid stinky doggy breath!
