Senior Cat Dental Disease and Bad Breath: Home Care and Anesthesia
๐จ Check first
About 80 percent of cats aged 3 and older have periodontal disease. If you dismiss it as "just bad breath," the bone around the tooth roots can dissolve and pus can come out of the nose (oronasal fistula), and periodontal bacteria can travel through the bloodstream and worsen kidney or heart disease.
๐ The answer in 3 seconds
- When brown tartar already coats the teeth thickly and the gums are red and swollen, scrubbing over it with a toothbrush causes sharp pain and bleeding, and your cat will stop letting you touch their mouth.
- If the pain or bad breath is strong, first have the clinic treat it with oral antibiotics or anti-inflammatory medicine (or, if your cat's overall health allows, tartar removal and extractions), and start home care once the pain is gone.
- For senior cats that hate toothbrushes, simply keeping up a liquid dental additive mixed into drinking water, or an enzyme dental gel or oral probiotic supplement licked like a lickable treat, can greatly slow how fast the disease gets worse.
๐ Flowchart
- Step 1When your cat yawns or is asleep, gently lift the lips and look for brown deposits on the back teeth (molars) and a red line where the gums meet the teeth (gingivitis).
- Step 2For a cat that dislikes having their mouth touched, do not force a toothbrush in. Instead, mix a tasty cat dental gel or oral care powder supplement into their daily meals or treats.
- Step 3For a cat that lets you touch their mouth, wrap a dental wipe (or gauze) moistened with water around your finger, and start the habit by quickly stroking just the outside of the upper back teeth, the spot that gets dirty most easily, for 1 second.
โญ Step-by-step fix
Step 1 ยท What you can do at home right now
When your cat yawns or is asleep, gently lift the lips and look for brown deposits on the back teeth (molars) and a red line where the gums meet the teeth (gingivitis).
Step 2
For a cat that dislikes having their mouth touched, do not force a toothbrush in. Instead, mix a tasty cat dental gel or oral care powder supplement into their daily meals or treats.
Step 3
For a cat that lets you touch their mouth, wrap a dental wipe (or gauze) moistened with water around your finger, and start the habit by quickly stroking just the outside of the upper back teeth, the spot that gets dirty most easily, for 1 second.
โ Never do this
- Using human toothpaste (absolutely not: xylitol, foaming agents, and mint ingredients are toxic to cats).
- Holding your cat down without anesthesia and scraping off tartar with a scaler (a metal tool) (it leaves countless invisible scratches on the tooth surface that make tartar build up even faster, it cannot remove bacteria deep in the periodontal pockets, and it causes your cat intense fear and pain, so it is not recommended in veterinary dentistry either).
๐ Make notes for the vet
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