Dental disease is one of the most common and chronically painful conditions in companion cats. Preventive care and early treatment dramatically improve feline quality of life.
Feline dental welfare is one of the most widespread and underappreciated companion animal welfare problems. The combination of high disease prevalence and effective pain hiding means many cats live with significant untreated chronic pain that owners and veterinarians fail to detect. Cats with dental pain often show subtle behavioral changes including reduced grooming, changed food preferences, or less sociability that may be attributed to aging or personality rather than pain. Regular professional dental examinations under anesthesia with radiographic assessment is the only reliable way to identify and treat dental disease at its true extent. Dental disease is largely preventable through consistent daily or near-daily tooth brushing started early in life.