is there a dentist for cats?

Question

my cat had lost one of its lower fangs due to one of it encounters with it old nemesis, because of that it started to drool alot and hard for it to eat normally. so is there anyway to replace the lost fang?

Answer 1

Hi there...dental disorders can be treated by a veterinarian since many cats suffer from periodontal disorders. Once a tooth is lost it cannot be restored. The drooling is a result of the periodontal disorder: http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/drooling.html

Periodontal disorders in cats: http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/news/badBreath.htm

Answer 2

It is possible to have a root canal and have the tooth capped to make it look normal again, but veterinary orhtodontists can be hard to find and very expensive. The only time I saw it done was on a police dog-he broke a canine tooth and he needed it for working, so they put a crown on that tooth, and capped all his canines in gold to make them stronger. It looked really cool when it was done. That was when I was a student at MSU. Your local vet can remove the tooth-if it's broken and the pulp cavity and nerve are exposed, then it would be very painful and easily infected. You can even have his teeth cleaned at the same time-and I would reccomend that you do! He will come home with his mouth as sqeaky-clean as yours is after a dental visit. Dental cleanings and tooth removal is done under general anesthesia, and can be a little expensive because of this, but it's not possible to do dental work on an awake cat.

Answer 3

Take your cat to a good vet. They usually do dental work on cats too. My cat had 1 loose fang and one broken one, and really bad breath. I took him to the vet to have his loose fang removed (there is no way to save that tooth). The vet is very good and examined my cat's mouth. Turned out that two of his pre-molars had periodontal disease which was causing him plenty of pain. The short of it, my cat had 4 extractions - both upper fangs and 2 pre-molars. My cat is a LOT HAPPIER now that his troublesome teeth have been removed. The extractions, anesthesia, teeth cleaning, bloodtest, antibiotics and painkiller all together cost me something like $600.00. But you vet may have different price scale.

If you want to save your cat's fang, a "cap" made of gold or stainless steel will have to be made - but that costs a LOT becuase the nerve has to be rooted out and so on and so on (like our own root canal). But I doubt whether your cat's broken fang can be saved becuase the nerve will now be exposed and that causes a great deal of pain and other mouth prooblems for the cat. The best solution is to have it extracted - your cat will thank you for it. He is drooling now and has difficulty eating becuase believe me, he has one gigantic toothache.

If your cat is over 7 years old, he'll need to have a bloodtest to make sure that he can undergo anesthesia safely. The vet will also check him for any heart murmur. Since you are talikng about only one fang, then have it extracted. And while your kitty is ahving that done, get his teeth cleaned too. Sgould cost you no more than $300.00.

Answer 4

The cat may have an abcess or something else going on. My cat had both his lower fangs removed because they were rotted below the gumline from an old injury and he has no problem eating and doesn't drool. I've had other cats with teeth removed and they had no problems either.
Sounds like your cat needs to visit the vet. Some vets do provide dental services (they will pull and clean teeth, not usually replace them) or they can refer you.
Good luck!

Answer 5

I took in an older stray that had had horrid dental health.

This cat was missing most of his teeth, including all fangs but his upper left. I had adopted him from a veterinarian who took him in and treated him when he was brought into his office so, while he was missing most of his teeth, his oral health was good otherwise.

I had to feed him a soft diet for the rest of his time with me (I had to give him to a friend because I was moving and could not take him). He did have a drooling problem but not a terrible one. Other than the soft diet, he did not have any limitations.

I have never heard of any way to replace a lost tooth in a cat.

Answer 6

I would take your cat to the vet as soon as possible. Do to the loss of the fang, he or she could get an infection. They should be able to figure out what would be best for him or her. Good Luck!!

Answer 7

go to a vetenerarian in your area. ask them if they can take care of this problem or else refer you to someone who can. your vetenerarian would be the best one to suggest as they know the best referrals.