Dental disease is the most common health problem in adult cats, yet it is chronically underdiagnosed and undertreated, causing widespread preventable suffering.
Dental disease represents a hidden epidemic of suffering in the companion cat population. The stoic nature of cats, combined with their ability to adapt their eating behavior around dental pain, means that millions of cats live with chronic oral discomfort that goes unrecognized by their owners and sometimes by veterinarians using only visual examination. Proper assessment requires anesthetic dental radiography — a standard of care that many cats never receive because owners are unaware of the need or concerned about cost. Tooth resorption is particularly insidious because it causes severe pain when exposed but may not be visible externally. Extractions, while seemingly drastic, provide immediate and dramatic welfare improvement for cats with resorptive lesions or severe stomatitis. Improving feline dental welfare requires owner education, accessible veterinary dental care, and broader use of dental radiography.