Dental disease is the most common health problem in domestic cats, yet it frequently goes undetected and untreated, causing chronic pain that significantly reduces quality of life.
Feline dental disease is a chronic pain epidemic hiding in plain sight. Cats evolved to mask pain as a survival strategy, meaning that even cats with severe oral disease continue to eat, play, and behave relatively normally until the condition is advanced. Owners and even veterinarians performing awake oral examinations frequently underestimate the severity of disease present. The result is that millions of cats live with chronic oral pain for years before it is recognized and treated. Post-treatment behavioral changes — increased activity, improved appetite, greater affection — dramatically reveal how significantly untreated dental disease had been limiting quality of life. Annual or biannual veterinary dental assessment, including anesthetic examination and dental radiographs, is essential for early detection and treatment.