Oral Health And How It Affects Our Pets

Schultz, a nine-year-old miniature dachshund came in to Central Animal Hospital for his routine annual wellness visit. Charlie, the dog's owner, mentioned that Schultz had been drinking and voiding a lot lately, and he has the most disgusting breath he has ever smelled. Charlie confided, "Doc, ya gotta help me out here. My wife is threatening to make us both sleep out on the couch. She says if you don't fix this problem with Schultzie, we're both in big trouble."

After some samples were taken of our little four-legged friend, we found he had a urinary tract infection. A culture of the urine is pending," I told Charlie. "We'll have the results in a few days. By the way, I want you to drop Schultz off tomorrow because he has a serious dental infection that must be tended to immediately. Let's get him started on some antibiotics now; we may need to change to another pending the results of the urine culture."

The next day Schultz was admitted for a periodontal treatment, including dental x-rays and oral cultures, to help assess how advanced his periodontal disease had become. After an extensive periodontal procedure under anesthesia, Schultz was recovering with the help of some pain medication. My veterinary dental technician called Charlie to let him know everything was okay, and that his recovery appeared uneventful. Schultz went home and continued to take his antibiotics and pain medication as directed. We received culture results from the urine and oral cavity a few days later and were quite surprised. Both cultures contained the same bacterial organisms. Charlie asked, "Do you see this very often Doc?" I replied,

"More than you'd think Charlie. Quite frankly, when an infection develops around the teeth of an animal, deep pockets of infection form within the soft tissues supporting the teeth. The bloodstream redistributes the bacteria throughout the body. This is referred to as bacteremia and can lead to serious infections in almost any organ of the body, including the urinary bladder. Fortunately, the bacteria were sensitive to the antibiotic we chose and should clear up within 7-10 days."

In several days, the bladder infection resolved, and Schultz is now on a routine schedule for periodontal treatments and follow-ups. I've often been asked why animals need dental care. My answer is always the same. Dental infections lead to other infections and can shorten an animal's life expectancy. We all want our family members to live long healthy, pain free lives. Veterinary dentists now know that the oral health of cats and dogs has a direct effect on their overall health. By keeping our pets' teeth and gums healthy we can play a large part to ensure our pets remain healthy longer.

Dr. Brown is Chief Veterinarian and owner of Central Animal Hospital in northeast St. Petersburg. 4801 Fourth Street North. 727-521-3518