Expert: Jessica - 12/1/2009

Question
My cat is almost 3 years old and we just noticed the other day that one of her fangs are gone.  I am not sure how long it has been since she lost it.  Sh ehas been eating her dry food regularly?  It doesn't seem like she is in pain or anything?  What should I do.  It is so expensive to take her to the vet everytime something is wrong.  

Answer
Hi Brooke.  Ideally, she should see the vet to make sure that there is no root or broken tooth still present under the gumline that's causing her pain.  The vet can check by applying light pressure to the area as well as examining her gums for redness and swelling.  A dental x-ray is the best way to check, but these are usually run just prior to a dental cleaning.

It's common for cats to lose teeth.  Tooth loss typically begins to occur after the cat is several years old, but some conditions cause teeth to fall out early.  When a cat's canine teeth start falling out at a young age, Feline Odontoclastic Resorptive Lesions (FORL's) are usually to blame.  For unknown reasons, possibly an immune response triggered by an early infection with a virus called calici, the body begins to attack the teeth and absorb them.  Most of these cats lose all their teeth fairly young, and it's best to surgically remove them to save the cats from the very painful process of tooth resorption.  

But it's also possible your cat could have broken this tooth.  If the gums appear healthy around all her other teeth, this might be the case.  If the crown of the tooth was broken off but part of the tooth is remaining around the gumline, sensitive nerves are still exposed, and the rest of the tooth should be removed surgically.

I hope all goes well!

Jessica