Dental disease affects an estimated 70–85% of cats over three years old. It causes chronic pain that owners rarely detect, making it one of the most widespread welfare problems in companion cats.
Feline dental disease represents a chronic pain epidemic in a population that cannot report its suffering. The combination of high prevalence, stoic masking behaviour, and owner unawareness creates conditions where millions of cats live with significant ongoing pain that is treatable but unaddressed. Tooth resorption in particular causes lesions that expose the innervated pulp to oral environment, causing pain analogous to an exposed nerve in human dentistry — continuous and severe. The welfare improvement from appropriate dental treatment, including necessary extractions, is typically immediate and dramatic. Cats that were "slowing down" or "getting old" frequently become playful, social, and active again within days of treatment — revealing how much their previous state had been dominated by pain.