h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Although the importance of diet for smaller pets is mentioned here, nothing is said about cats and dogs. Feeding cats and dogs commercial tinned or dried foods, with their high amounts of carbohydrates, encourages the formation of plaque and tartar (as well as other health problems). Feeding a diet of raw meat and bone cleans the teeth every time the cat or dog eats.

I know we've had a discussion about this on your other entry, Mort - I just wanted to add it in here to balance your information on lagomorphs and rodents, as you say 'These animals tend to suffer from a specific type of dental problem that is very different to that of dogs and cats.', but you haven't mentioned dental problems in dogs and cats, only the structure of the teeth.

Lbclaire

I mentioned the diet in relation to the small furries because the formation and dentition of the teeth are directly related - the teeth never stop growing.

Whereas with dogs/cats the dentition is fixed once errupted and while they have oral health problems they are not directly related to the structure of the jaw or teeth. Except for poor breeding in pedigrees such as SBT which have problems due to the mouth formation from breeding

Ah, I see. Sorry, hadn't got that!

I once worked with someone who mentioned that they were taking their rabbit to the vets because one of its teeth had started to grow up into its skull !

When I said 'oh no, poor thing' she remarked 'yes, and it's weird, our old rabbit had that as well...'.

Lbclaire

Yes thats true - they have an open root apex and can grow at both ends.
That's when they get blocked lachrymal ducts and abcesses. poor Chinchillas have the same problem.

This is a slightly different question but on dog teeth so I thought I'd put it in here...

If a dog looses an adult tooth, does it hurt as much as when a human does? My dog appears to have lost two teeth somewhere down the line but I never noticed terribly at the time because there was no drooling blood that you might see with a human. Why is this?

Kat

If there was no mouth rubbing or drooling etc then then one reason is severe gum recession due to gingivitis.
This means that the connective tissue and ligaments holding the tooth in place shrink back and the tooth becomes loose.
In severe cases of gingivitis then the bone starts to get eaten away too so the tooth is able to fall out, especially when eating! The nerve dies off too so unlikely to be sore.

Had a very elderly dog in for an op once and while I was doing the anaesthetic I saw his teeth were so bad that i could literally - and I mean literally - pull them out with a finger and thumb. The teeth were sitting in pockets of pus


If the teeth were knocked out then you would expect to get signs of drooling, face rubbing, eating to one side etc

It is just as painful as it is with humans but dogs and cats tend to cope with it better than humans and don't show signs of a tooth ache until it really hurts - such as when they get a root abscess.

Are they front teeth or back teeth? Occasionally you can get caries in the big molars that are so huge that all but the roots remain and the gums almost heal over them so it looks as if the tooth has gone. Although that would be a bit sore.

The small incisors at the front have a very slim root so would be less painful to lose than others.

Mort (loves talking about teeth

Bottom very front teeth. I think she knocked them out whilst playing at various times with a Kong. I did take her to the vet recently and she said that her teeth were in good condition for her age (10) although of course...good condition is all relative