Tooth resorption and feline stomatitis are severely painful dental conditions that are dramatically undertreated, with most affected cats suffering in silence for months or years.
Dental disease in cats causes a level of chronic suffering that is profoundly underappreciated. Tooth resorption involves active destruction of tooth structure including exposure of nerve-containing dentin — the human equivalent would be multiple teeth with exposed nerves simultaneously. Cats typically continue eating through severe dental pain because the instinct to survive overrides pain avoidance, creating the dangerous illusion for owners that nothing is wrong. Annual dental examinations under anesthesia are the only way to identify subtypes of tooth resorption and guide appropriate treatment. Stomatitis, when severe, is best treated with full-mouth extraction despite the radical nature of the intervention — cats eat normally and thrive after extraction with dramatically improved quality of life.