Tasha
Patient of the Month
Tooth Root Abscess
 Tasha is a twelve year old Boxer mix. Over the past few years she has been diagnosed and treated with several minor diseases. In the past few months, she has been slowing down and laying around more. Recently she developed a swelling on the right side of her face below her eye. Note how little tartar buildup there is on her teeth in the photo to the left.
On physical examination, Tasha had minor tartar buildup (Level 1 Tartar), however she had a draining tract above her right fourth upper premolar. Prior to placing her under anesthesia, Tasha had a Complete Blood Count and a Blood Chemistry Profile performed to help assure that she could safely handle the anesthetic.
Dental radiographs were taken, and her right fourth upper premolar was indeed abscessed. (Note the darker areas between the roots, this is bone loss.) There was significant bone loss surrounding the roots of affected the tooth, which indicates that the infection had been there for quite a while. The affected tooth was extracted and the pocket sutured closed, her remaining teeth were cleaned, and she was sent home on pain medication and antibiotics.
When Tasha returned for her next follow-up visit, her owners remarked on how wonderful she was doing. They had not realized how poorly she had been acting and how lethargic she had become. They exclaimed that she is a "completely new dog. She is playing better than she has in months."
Did you know
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Dental disease affects more dogs and cats than any other disease process.
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Sixty percent of dental disease lies underneath the gum lines and can't be seen without radiographs.
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Of all pets over 2 years old, 70% to 85% have some degree of periodontal disease.
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Dogs and cats feel dental pain in much the same way that people do.
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Periodontal disease can lead to heart, liver or kidney disease.
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Imagine if you never brushed your teeth and only saw a dentist once or twice in your lifetime.
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It is impossible to perform a through dental cleaning without general anesthesia -- the teeth must be cleaned under the gum line, and polished to remove microabrasions from the cleaning.
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AAHA guidelines recommend a professional cleaning under anesthesia for most dogs and cats that have reached one year of age and every year thereafter.
For more information on dental care, you can visit...
Click here to see the dental care at the Animal Medical Center of Lehigh Acres
For a much more severe periodontal disease case, see Fergie, a previous patient of the month.
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