Punkin is a very nice 9 ½ year old spayed female Domestic Shorthair Cat. She was presented to us for a routine wellness exam and was seen to have moderate tartar accumulation. A dental hygiene procedure was recommended so Punkin was brought in for this.
Punkin’s pre-anesthetic labwork and exam were unremarkable. After cleaning all the way around every tooth, above and below the gumline, performing a thorough magnified dental exam, and taking full mouth radiographs, one problem was discovered.
Can you see the bulging at her lower left k9 tooth?
This is caused by boney remodeling in response to a periodontal infection. You can see the difference between the right and left sides on this dental x-ray.
This is a problem for the future hygiene of this tooth because the boney lip is creating a pocket for bacteria to live. Without any treatment this tooth is doomed and will most likely need extracted in the next year or two.
To improve the hygiene of this tooth, the gingiva was elevated off the bone around this tooth, and the boney lip was removed.
The gingiva was placed back against the tooth and sutured in place with very small sutures.
This delicate but simple procedure has hopefully saved this tooth from rapidly progressing periodontal disease and this super sweet cat will get to keep this tooth for years to come with proper at-home care. This is yet another example of how a routine wellness exam resulted in catching a disease process early and being able to treat the condition.