Dental Radiography in Veterinary Medicine

1. Dental
Radiography
In Veterinary Medicine

2. Why take dental radiographs?
• To see pathology hiding below the gingiva or inside the tooth
• Evaluate an area where the teeth appear to be missing
• To document the obvious, supporting treatment decisions
• To communicate with clients information about their pets
• Medical/legal documentation
• Postoperative confirmation of proper extraction
• Preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative endodontics
• Follow progression of pulpal pathology and/or periodontal disease

3. When to take a dental radiograph?
• When a tooth is mobile
• When gingiva bleeds with/without probing
• When a tooth is fractured (enamel, dentin, or pulpal exposure)
• When a tooth is discolored
• When furcation exposure is present (periodontal disease)
• When teeth are missing without explanation
• When a feline ondoclastic resorptive lesion is noted.
• Prior to extraction for anatomical orientation and documentation

4. Periodontal
Disease
Here is an example of what healthy gum tissue looks
like and what a pet’s mouth looks like with periodontal
disease, grade 4 (the most severe)
• The most common ailment in small
animals.
• The periodontal tissues are the gingiva,
cementum, periodontal ligament, and
alveolar supporting bone.
• More than 85% of dogs and cats older than
four years have periodontal pathology.
• Periodontal disease starts with the
formation of plaque. Plaque starts forming
12 hrs after dental cleaning. If plaque is not
removed, mineral salts in the food will
precipitate to form hard dental calculus. The
calculus is irritating to the gingival tissue,
changing the ph of the mouth allowing
pathogenic aerobic gram negative bacteria
to survive subgingivally. By-products of
these bacteria "eat away" at the tooth's
support structures eventually causing the
tooth to be lost.
This is a radiograph of
periodontal disease. You
can see tissue loss
around the tooth.

5. Miscellaneous
Dental Conditions
Ankylosed tooth - a tooth is ankylosed when there
is union between the tooth root and alveolar bone.
The union may be with either cementum or bone.
Causes of ankylosed teeth include traumatic injury,
occlusal trauma, and periapical inflammation.
Metabolic disease - renal secondary
hyperparathyroidism radiographically is portrayed as
a generalized loss of bone support of all the teeth.
Neoplasia - Radiographically look for destruction of
all tissues around the tooth.
Foreign bodies - in all cases of oral swellings, or
nasal discharge, radiographs must be taken.
As you can see, radiology is a vital diagnostic tool to
diagnose dental pathology. Essential therapy
decisions are based on radiographic findings.
Neoplasia (cancer) of the lower jaw