A nine year old male neutered Yorkshire Terrier presented 7 weeks following dental cleaning and full mouth radiographs.

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Note that the teeth and gums appear fairly healthy.  There is gingival recession on the distal root of the right maxillary third premolar (tooth 107).

Radiographs reveal severe bone loss associated with all of the remaining premolars in the right maxilla (white arrows)

The left maxillary third premolar had similar changes.  Both fourth premolars were extracted previously.

There is diseased tissue present adjacent to the distal root that bled easily upon probing.

There was significant pocket depth on the distal aspect of both mandibular first molars.

Radiographs reveal severe bone loss and periapical lucencies on both distal roots.

Multiple extractions were performed including all of the above mentioned teeth.  It is important to note that radiographs and cleaning had been done 7 weeks prior to these images.  A very common question that pet owners have is “I have my pet’s teeth cleaned often at our vet’s office but every time they pull more teeth.  What can I do to stop this.”

The answer is to seek care early in the life of the pet from a veterinary dental specialist.   There full mouth radiographs and a thorough evaluation can help to gauge the stage of periodontal disease, treat areas of concern and determine the proper interval for cleaning and appropriate home care.  The properly trained general veterinarian that has exceptional experience in dental radiography and surgical extractions can provide similar care, however the number of practices that meet this standard of care are limited.  As a pet owner make sure that these conditions are met and ask where and to what extent they received their training.  Training by a board certified veterinary dentist is mandatory to learn the proper skills to provide the standard of care for our patients.  For a list of board certified veterinary dentists please visit the website of the American Veterinary Dental College.
 
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