Monitoring the prevalence and predictors of dental diseases in dogs

Abstract

The increase in the share of dogs with dental pathology against the background of the appearance of new probable risk factors (in particular, the introduction of new diets in feeding), determine the rele-vance of regular monitoring of the spread and predictors of oral cavity diseases. The determination of diseases of the oral cavity, as well as risk factors for their occurrence and progression was based on the analysis of anamnestic data, comprehensive assessment of the results of visual inspection, palpa-tion, probing, and radiography. The obtained results indicated that among 990 dogs with dental pa-thology, 57.7% were small, 26.4% were medium, and 15.9% were large and giant breeds. Dogs had the highest risk of developing dental diseases, including plaque/calculus (17.2–40.5%), dental caries (20.4–31.9%), retained deciduous teeth (5.1–18.6%), traumatic injuries/fractures of teeth (1.9–19.1%), and abnormal wear (1.8–24.8%). Small dogs were most prone to plaque/calculus (40.5%), dental caries (31.5%), and retained deciduous teeth (18.6%); large and giant breeds were most prone to traumatic injuries/fractures of teeth (19.1%) and teeth attrition (24.8%). There was a correlation with age for certain dental diseases: the average age of small breed dogs was significantly (P<0.001) younger than that of large and giant breeds for plaque/calculus (3.3±0.6 vs 8.9±1.2 years), dental caries (4.2±0.8 vs 8.5±0.8 years), and dental trauma/tooth fractures (2.8±0.6 vs 9.1±1.7 years). In terms of dental disease, the feeding regimen was one of the prognostic factors for increased risk of plaque/calculus formation, dental caries development, tooth trauma/fracture, and abnormal tooth wear. Regardless of breed, the best option was to use dry commercial feeds, and the worst one: the biologically appropriate raw food (BARF) feeding system. The susceptibility of breeds to dental dis-eases was proven: Yorkshire terriers to the formation of plaque/calculus (14.4%), dental caries (12.5%), and retained deciduous teeth (17.5%); German/Eastern European Shepherds to dental inju-ries/fractured teeth (13.2%) and teeth attrition (12.6%); Chihuahuas and Papillons to malocclusions (7.3%); Maltese dogs and Papillons to enamel hypoplasia (13.6%). Thus, a high incidence rate of oral cavity diseases in dogs was established, and breed and age susceptibility to the most common dental pathology was determined. The relationship between the feeding regimen and diet composition with the risk of developing oral cavity diseases was shown. Attention was focused on the importance of an individual diagnostic approach for dental diseases in dogs. The prospect of further research is the clinical implementation of computed tomography with the aim of a more accurate assessment of pathological changes in tissues due to dental diseases in dogs.

Keywords

• dogs
• dental diseases
• feeding regimen
• prognostic factors
• veterinary dentistry