Dental extractions are among the most common feline surgical procedures and, when performed appropriately, dramatically improve quality of life by removing painful diseased teeth.
Dental extraction is a welfare-positive intervention when performed appropriately on teeth with resorptive lesions, periapical disease, or severe periodontitis. The reluctance of some owners to authorize extractions — particularly full mouth extractions — based on concerns about function is misplaced: cats adapt remarkably quickly to eating without teeth when wet food is provided. The welfare comparison is between chronic daily dental pain from diseased teeth and a single anesthetic event after which the source of pain is permanently removed. Cats that have undergone full mouth extractions for stomatitis frequently show dramatic behavioral improvements confirming that the previous dental disease was causing significant chronic suffering.