Periodontal disease - a primer on recogn...

Periodontal inflammation is the most common syndrome affecting small animals. In no other area of the body can the dedicated veterinarian and dental team make a lifelong difference in patient health and longevity. AnatomyThe term periodontium describes tissues that surround and support the teeth including...

Explore the options for dental treatment...

Creating a dental treatment plan can be frustrating. As with other veterinary disciplines, dental diagnosis and care is one-third recognition of disease, one-third understanding anatomy and medical principles, and the last third performing needed care. Fortunately, the general practitioner or a close...

Functional occlusion: I’m OK, but ...

I hung up the receiver after explaining to one of my clients why his “normally” undershot Shih Tzu’s maxillary incisors needed be removed because they were penetrating the mandibular gingiva. How could this perfectly “normal” dog be abnormal? A book I read many years ago,...

Examining new classifications of tooth f...

 When a dog or cat presents with lethargy or pale mucous membranes and anemia is suspected, the ultimate treatment and prognosis starts with successfully categorizing the problem. Is the anemia regenerative or non-regenerative? Each form takes the practitioner down a different treatment path. Keep in...

Management of acute feline temporomandib...

The lower jaw of the cat on your exam table is displaced to the left (Photo 1). Is the mandible or maxilla fractured? Or is the mandible luxated? If so, right or left? What is the best way to diagnose and treat this problem? Can you as a general practitioner handle it, or must the case be referred to...