Dental disease is the most common health condition in adult dogs, causing significant chronic pain that owners rarely recognise without professional examination.
Dental disease in dogs represents widespread, chronic, unrecognised pain on an enormous scale. The perception that dogs with dental disease are managing fine because they continue to eat is a fundamental misunderstanding — dogs are highly food-motivated animals that continue eating through significant oral pain. The change in eating behaviour owners observe is often the late-stage manifestation of prolonged disease: a dog that has been experiencing chronic pain for months or years may finally show obvious discomfort when disease reaches an advanced stage. Annual oral examination by a veterinarian, followed by professional dental cleaning when indicated, is the welfare-appropriate standard. Home brushing from puppyhood prevents the progression that requires anaesthetic cleaning, but for most adult dogs with established disease, professional intervention is the necessary starting point.