Dental disease affects the majority of cats over three years old. It causes chronic pain that significantly impairs quality of life and is highly preventable with good care.
Feline dental disease is a silent welfare crisis. The stoic nature of cats, combined with their ability to adapt to chronic pain, means that most dental disease goes unrecognised until cats are examined under anaesthesia. A cat with tooth resorption or advanced periodontal disease is experiencing continuous pain — yet shows this only through subtle behaviour changes that owners rarely connect to oral health. Routine dental examinations under anaesthesia, including full-mouth radiography, allow diagnosis of conditions invisible to visual inspection. Treatment — extractions for resorptive lesions, professional cleaning for periodontal disease — provides immediate welfare benefit, often with dramatic behavioural improvement as owners see their cat become more active and engaged after years of unrecognised pain.