Understanding feline tooth resorption — affecting over half of adult cats and causing significant dental pain.
Tooth resorption is one of the most prevalent and underdiagnosed sources of chronic pain in domestic cats. The progressive destruction of tooth structure by odontoclasts creates lesions that expose dentinal tubules — causing intense, unprovoked pain equivalent to a severe dental cavity. Yet affected cats often continue eating, masking the severity of their pain from owners.
The welfare burden of untreated tooth resorption is significant. Cats with multiple affected teeth may have lived with dental pain for years. The pain affects behaviour — cats become less interactive, groom differently, preferring softer food and avoiding hard kibble. The chronic nature of the pain and its cumulative welfare impact is often only fully appreciated retrospectively after extraction, when owners describe their cat as 'a different animal.'
Tooth extraction is the definitive welfare intervention. The procedure eliminates the pain source completely and permanently. Most cats show dramatic improvement in demeanour, appetite, and grooming within days of extraction. Annual dental examination — including dental radiography to detect subgingival lesions invisible to visual examination — is the only way to detect TR before clinical signs develop.