Today's Veterinary Practice

MAY-JUN 2015

Today's Veterinary Practice provides comprehensive information to keep every small animal practitioner up to date on companion animal medicine and surgery as well as practice building and management.

Issue link: http://todaysveterinarypractice.epubxp.com/i/504690

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 27 of 121

Today's VeTerinary PracTice | May/June 2015 | tvpjournal.com PracTical denTisTry Peer reviewed 24 surgical extraction. If cyst formation has occurred, en bloc removal or extraction of the tooth and meticulous curettage of the lining should prove curative. Following curettage, a biopsy of the lining and bone augmentation is recommended. Referral to a veterinary dentist is recommended for larger lesions. It is critical to note that 2 of the causes for "missing" teeth require no therapy, while the other 2 can lead to signifcant pathology. Therefore, all "missing" teeth should be radiographed to determine the correct cause and, therefore, the correct approach to management. EXTRACTIONS Pre- and postoperative dental radiographs should be exposed for all extraction procedures. 18 Pre-extraction radiographs allow the practitioner to determine the amount of disease present as well as any root abnormalities, such as curved (Figure 16) or extra roots. Ten percent of maxillary third premolars in cats have a third root (Figure 17). 30 One of the more important fndings on pre- operative dental radiographs is the presence and degree of ankylosis. 7,19 In addition, the level of remaining bone is elucidated. In the case of a mandibular frst molar or canine extraction, knowledge of the amount of remaining mandibular bone can be critical with regard to avoiding an iatrogenic pathologic fracture. 6,10,18 Radiographs also serve as legal evidence, documenting the need for extraction. Postextraction dental radiographs are equally important. Despite the appearance of complete extraction, there is still a possibility of retained roots or other pathology. One study evaluating extraction of carnassial teeth in dogs and cats revealed that almost 90% of these teeth had retained roots. 28 Therefore, postoperative radiographs are critical in all cases (Figure 18 ). In addition, radiographs serve as legal documents in cases with complications. IN SUMMARY The conditions and therapeutic options discussed in this article emphasize the value—especially the patient benefts—of full-mouth radiographs for all veterinary patients. 30 Nearly every veterinary patient has some form of oral disease. Dental radiographs are a critical piece of information for the veterinarian for both diagnosing and treating oral disease. Figure 16 . Intraoral dental radiograph of left mandibular frst molar (309) of a 7-pound dog. The apex is very close to the ventral cortex and has a marked curve ( red arrow), which signifcantly complicates extraction. Figure 17 . Intraoral dental radiograph of maxillary left third premolar in a cat. This tooth has a supernumerary root (red arrow), which greatly complicates the extraction process. Figure 18. Retained roots of left mandibular frst molar (309) after "extraction" at a clinic without dental radiography. Note the retained tooth roots ( red arrows). B ROOk A. NIemIec Brook A. Niemiec, DVM, FAVD, Diplomate AVDC, is Chief of Staff of Southern California Veterinary Dental Specialties, with offces in San Diego and Murrieta, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada. He lectures extensively at national and international conferences. He received his DVM from University of California–Davis.

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of Today's Veterinary Practice - MAY-JUN 2015