Periodontal Disease

What is periodontal disease? What is the cause, the symptoms and the treatment?

Periodontal disease is caused by a bacterial infection in the gums that gets progressively worse if left untreated. It damages the gums, supporting structures of the teeth, and can damage the bone.

The symptoms sadly are not always noticeable until the disease is advanced. When bacteria collects along the gum line plaque builds and hardens into calculus (also know as tartar), and this will cause irritation and inflammation. This inflammation is also known as gingivitis, and is the first signs of gum disease.

If left untreated pockets of bacteria and pus that are very difficult to spot with the naked eye can form, as well as painful abscesses. In some cases loss of teeth in surrounding areas can occur, and in severe cases the jaw bone can become brittle and honeycomb in appearance.

Pulpitis is another issue that can arise from periodontal disease; the inflammation of the gums leads to internal pulpal bleeding in the tooth. Research has shown that that over 92% of teeth that show signs of discolouration are no longer viable and should be either removed or have a root canal procedure. If left untreated they can cause painful abscesses.

An epulis is a benign tumour that grows in the mouth, they can be caused by the inflammation and bacteria when periodontal disease is present.

If periodontal disease is left untreated it can cause not only a lot of pain and discomfort to your dog, but also some very serious health issues including an increased risk of organ damage. This is caused by the constant stream of bacteria and toxins entering the gut and bloodstream of the dog. Periodontal disease is known to increase the risk of chronic kidney disease, heart disease and liver disease in dogs. It is also more difficult for dogs with diabetes to regulate blood sugars.

They are different stages of periodontal disease, here are some of the symptoms of look out for.

Stage one

Bad breath

Red inflamed gums

Bleeding gums when brushing or chewing

Tartar accumulation

Stage two

Bad breath

Red inflamed gums

Bleeding gums when brushing or chewing

Slightly receding gums

More visible tartar

Stage three

Bad breath

Red inflamed gums

More noticeable receding gums

Tooth loss

High amounts of tartar

Stage four

Bad breath

Very red inflamed gums

Bleeding gums

Pus around the teeth

Tooth loss

Drooling

Discolouration and pulpitis of the teeth

Behavioural changes including the dog being off it’s food and water, aggression, depression, not wanting to play or chew, restlessness and smacking of the gums/lips.

The most important thing to prevent periodontal disease is to look after your dogs teeth. Feed them fresh food and, if raw fed, feed size appropriate raw meaty bones a few times a week.

Brush your dogs teeth daily with a soft tooth brush. I advise that you start to do this from a very young age so that your puppy get used to it.

Emmi-pet are are ultra sonic tooth brushes for your dog but again they are best used daily.

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BETTYS STORY

Betty’s is a 9yr old french bulldog, we have never had any issues with her teeth until she cracked the tip of her canine off around 3 years ago. The vet had a look and felt that it wasn’t causing any issues, so we left it. Betty unfortunately couldn’t have whole bones due to her food sensitivities but was always given other chews; I didn’t brush her teeth regularly which I now know was a huge mistake. A few months ago I found some epulis on Betty’s gums and noticed she had fractured her broken canine further, so I decided to take her to a specialist dental surgeon for his opinion. What I discovered there was not only shocking but also very upsetting. When the specialist looked in Betty’s mouth he told me that her teeth and gums were far worse than he had thought. He explained that she had periodontal disease and would need some teeth taken out. We opted for root canal surgery for the broken canine as removing a canine is a huge job and we could risk the integrity of the jaw. I was informed that both of her bottom canines were dead and would also need either removal or a root canal procedure; we opted for the root canal procedure which will happen 3 month after the first surgery.

Betty had 4 teeth removed in total, one of them had an abscess behind it, three epulis removed and a root canal procedure. When we picked her up after the surgery the vet showed us close up pictures of her teeth, I was horrified to say the least. Her gums were red and inflamed, and close up you could see pus around the gum line. As you can imagine I was heartbroken as I had no idea! Betty’s had shown none of the classic symptoms.

Thankfully Betty has recovered really well and is doing amazingly well. She seems much more settled and happy now which is great, but also extremely upsetting as I now realise she must have been in pain with her teeth.

I guess the moral of this story is always brush your dogs teeth as well as feeding raw meaty bones where possible, or appropriate chews to help remove plaque build up.

I wanted to share this story as if this could happen to a dog like Betty who is very loved and well cared for, it can happen to any dog! Please look after those teeth.

© Karla Pearson, written for No Bull Natural Health for Dogs.