Dentistry

Occlusion is a contact between the incising or masticating surfaces of the maxillary and mandibular teeth. Normal occlusion in the dog and cat is also known as a "scissors bite". The mandibular teeth should occlude lingual to the maxillary teeth. The mandibular incisor cusps should rest on the cingulum on the palatal side of the maxillary incisors.

The lower teeth are embedded in the mandible. The mandible is made up of symmetrical bilateral bones. The areas of the mandible are divided into three areas – the symphyseal, the body and the ramus.

Check out these best practices for choosing dental sutures, needles and suturing methods.

Give clients a sneak peak of your dental procedures.

Dr. Daniel Carmichael helps a reader address this frustrating condition.

A tip to avoid injury from dental scalers.

Surgical endodontics is the treatment of choice where there is a history of recurrent facial swelling, the existence of anatomical or morphological problems, unresolved granulomatous tissue or sequelae remains after conventional endodontic therapy, or problems encountered during conventional endodontic therapy, such as fractured endodontic files or incomplete endodontic fill.

Teeth are extracted for a number of reasons. These include periodontal disease, caries, advanced feline dental resorptive lesions apical abscesses, traumatic malocclusion, tooth root fracture, tooth crown fracture, retained deciduous, teeth, root tips, supernumerary teeth and client preference.

Dentinal pulp occupies the interior cavity of the tooth. It consists of loose connective tissue intercellular substance, vessels, nerves, and fibers.

Periodontal disease begins as an infiltrate subjacent to the epithelium of the gingival margin and rapidly extends throughout the marginal gingiva to affect the connective tissue underlying both the oral and the sulcular epithelium.

Restorative dental problems, although not as involved as those in human dentistry, can be very technique-sensitive and difficult to resolve. The resolution of particular problems is usually dependent upon the choice and imagination or inventiveness of the operator.

There are many techniques currently employed for Mandibular fracture repair. They range from simple tape muzzle placement to various forms of invasive surgical reduction. Surgical reduction techniques include intra oral wire cerclage or ligation, osseous plating, inter medullary pining to extra-oral fixation appliances or combinations thereof.

Although human orthodontics can be traced back to 1000 B.C., veterinary orthodontics has just recently evolved. Attempts to correct malaligned teeth in animals have been attempted principally by owners and breeders of animals since the 19th century and possibly before.

The bisecting angle technique has been the technique of choice for most intraoral radiographic techniques. This is especially true for maxillary exposures. The limited intra oral confines of the maxilla, lower incisors and canine teeth have made this technique the method of choice.

Radiographs produced without distortion are of great use in dentistry and are far easier to interpret than those with superimposed, foreshortened, or elongated images. Whole books have been devoted to this very involved subject, but only the most pertinent points will be broached here.

Pulpal functions are 1) formative, 2) nutritive, 3) sensory, and 4) defensive.

Madison, N.J.-- Pfizer recently announced it will discontinue production of its veterinary periodontal disease vaccine for dogs.

The best diagnostic plan for feline odonotoclastic resorptive lesions.

Practicing veterinary dentistry is beneficial for clients, pets and you.

Sprin to win.

Find out why tooth extraction may not solve the problem of a biting dog.

A new bill in Texas could bring to an end to the debate over equine dentistry.

Which treatment therapy works 80% of the time?

Don't ignore dentin!

Technicians should treat dental records like the medical documentations they are.

Try this tip for creating a dental kit for your clients.

Learn about the multiple options available to treat this condition.

A court ruling temporarily disabled the Texas Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners from taking action against non-DVM teeth floaters.

Related readings on dental disease and systemic health

Knowing the science behind the link between oral disease and systemic health will help you get clients on board with veterinary dental care.