When selecting a veterinary clinic for your cat’s dental care, one of the most critical factors to consider is the availability and quality of dental x-ray equipment, and the experience of the Veterinary Surgeon. Many practices lack dental x-ray facilities altogether, and others may rely on outdated machines that produce sub-optimal images which are essential for diagnosis and surgery. 

​

What is a COHAT?

​

 

It stands for Comprehensive Oral Health Assessment & Treatment plan. It is the first and most important step in investigating Oro-Dental disease and it includes: Full-mouth dental X-rays, cleaning & charting under a short General Anaesthetic and Advanced Monitoring/Heating. Performed in our state of the art Dental Suite by or under guidance of our own Advanced Practitioner in Small Animal Dentistry (Dr Nikolai) & our Registered Veterinary Nurses.

​

Dental disease is one of the most common health conditions we see in cats, and they are excellent at hiding their pain and discomfort. 
 
Tooth Resorption (TR) is a common dental disease that can cause severe pain and tooth loss in cats. They can only be accurately diagnosed and classified using dental x-rays. Affected teeth and roots often need to be removed to manage the disease. 

​

​

Broken teeth

Broken teeth are often caused by trauma and Tooth Resorption. Fractured teeth should be either removed or referred for root canal treatment. As the exposed pulp will be colonized by bacteria and lead to pain, inflammation and infection.

​​

​

Gingivitis

Gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) is very common conditions in cats and can lead to some very severe diseases in some cats. The build-up of tartar (plaque), the cat’s individual immune response, and previous virus exposures can be contributing factors to the disease process. 

​

​

Periodontitis

Periodontitis is the inflammation of the attachment structures of the teeth to the bone. This is often seen as bone loss in dental X-rays, and unfortunately in cats even small amount of attachment loss can lead to significant pain and oral disease.

​

Tartar/Dental Calculus

This is a form of mineralized plaque that should be safely removed using only an ultrasonic scaler to prevent further disease, similar to a person visiting the dental hygienist.