Tazz came to us as his owners were worried about a mysterious lump that had appeared on her gums. Closer inspection showed us that the lump was an epulis, which is a tumour like mass that can present on animal’s gums. These types of masses come from the dental ligaments and they appear early on as small masses sprouting from the gum. If left, the lump can expand displacing the tooth structures causing dental disease to the tooth under the lump or deforming the face. Most epulides stick to the bone and have a smooth to slightly nodular surface.
Whilst we were in the mouth, the owners decided to also have her teeth cleaned, as you can see from the photo, her teeth did have early periodontitis. As the attached gum to each tooth is inflamed and swollen and a mouth odour is present.
At this stage of dental disease, professional cleaning is required, which includes a thorough oral examination, scaling and polishing. Dental radiographs are required to correctly diagnose and assist in treatment of patients with extensive disease. We chose to take an xray of the area in which the lump was present to ensure our diagnosis was correct and that it had not invaded the bone. The xray showed to be all clear.
We have attached a before and after photo of the dental, so you can now see her fresh pearly whites, which is what teeth look like after a dental procedure has been performed.
From here to keep her teeth nice and clean, the owners can introduce Hills T/D dental dry kibble to her diet to help keep her teeth clean, add Aquadent to her drinking water and regularly brush her teeth.
Please contact us at the clinic to discuss the dental health of your pet and options available.
