Periodontal disease is the most common disease in dogs, causing significant chronic pain. Prevention through home care and regular professional cleaning makes a meaningful welfare difference.
Periodontal disease causes chronic pain from gum inflammation, exposed tooth roots, bone resorption, and tooth mobility. Dogs rarely stop eating from dental pain but show subtle signs including preference for soft food, difficulty chewing on one side, and reluctance to have their mouths examined. The chronic, low-grade nature of dental pain means it is often normalized and undertreated. Professional dental cleaning under anesthesia allows thorough examination, scaling below the gumline, and extraction of non-salvageable teeth. Post-extraction dogs frequently show behavioral improvements revealing the degree of chronic pain they were experiencing prior to treatment.