Mary Allen
Even our pets can suffer from toothache. Find out here how you can recognize them and what you can do about them.
Toothache in animals: what you see
Toothache in animals ensures that they change their eating behavior, e.g. only chew on one side or no longer eat a certain food or let it fall out of their mouths again. Only rarely or at a late stage do the animals eat little or not at all. Sometimes the animals only eat soft food, and chew strangely or one-sidedly. You may see increased salivation. Occasionally the animals lose weight. If the cat has a toothache, it no longer cleans itself properly. Animals that have a toothache often crawl away and no longer want to be petted. If you still touch their mouths, they make cries of pain or twitch away. If your animal smells strongly from its mouth, if the gums are red or bloody, and/or you can see yellow deposits on the teeth, these are all indications of dental disease, which can also be associated with a toothache in animals.
If you notice any of these symptoms in your pet, consult your veterinarian. If necessary, he will also refer you to a dentist for dogs and cats.
Toothache in animals: Take special care with rodents and rabbits
Rabbits and rodents usually have regrowing teeth. if these are not worn down normally, they will grow too quickly or crookedly, creating problems that prevent the animal from eating normally and lead to pain. Tooth tips sometimes develop on the molars, which cut into the tongue or cheek. Sometimes the teeth grow crooked and simply continue to grow for a long time due to the lack of wear and tear, sometimes digging into the nose or cheek.
In small mammals, digestive disorders quickly set in, both due to insufficient feed intake and insufficient chewing activity. They develop diarrhea and can even gas up. This happens because the bacteria in the healthy intestinal flora no longer receive the necessary nutrients. Dysbiosis occurs, i.e. changes in the composition of these bacteria, which then form gases. Such animals can also be seen chewing until they are empty, i.e. without taking any food, or they grind their teeth.
The small pets, in particular, are very different: some no longer eat at all, although only slight tooth edges can be found, others still eat, although their teeth are already growing into their cheeks. Swelling of the jaw or watery eyes due to the involvement of the lacrimal-nasal canal also indicates dental problems in animals. Animals that have saliva around their mouths or on their necks can also suffer from dental problems.
Attention: With pets such as guinea pigs, rabbits, hamsters, etc., you should always have refusal to feed, weight loss, and digestive disorders checked by a veterinarian immediately! They can quickly become life-threatening.
The tooth: how it is structured
Our pets’ teeth are made up of different layers. The tooth cavity is formed by the tooth bone (dentin). This cavity is filled with the so-called pulp, which consists of nerves and blood vessels. Small nerve fibers also run through the dentine, making it sensitive to pain. Dentin can always be regenerated, and the dentin-forming cells (odontoblasts) are responsible for this. If the dentin is damaged, they die off and germs can penetrate the tooth cavity. The extremely hard enamel (it is the hardest substance in the body) covers the entire tooth at the crown and body as a thin white layer. At the root of the tooth, the tooth is covered with so-called cement, which has a bone-like structure. The tooth is anchored in the jaw with a strong yet slightly flexible connection.
By the way: The teeth of rodents and rabbits have no roots. They grow for a lifetime and have to be rubbed off with sufficient grinding and chewing movements.
Toothache in animals: What are the causes?
Toothache and pain in the gums are difficult to distinguish from the outside, which is why both are taken into account here.