871_872_Editorial.qxp_FAB 02/10/2014 11:20 Page 871
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2014) 16, 871–872
EDITORIAL
Still willing to drill? Anecdotally it seems that many vets in in this first issue we begin with oral practice dread feline dental procedures. examination techniques, including the dental education at university level was production of a clinically relevant and woefully deficient during our periods of comprehensive dental chart. A thorough oral study. Although the situation is changing, examination should always be performed on students are still leaving university feeling every feline patient, during every visit to the ill-prepared to adequately diagnose and veterinarian and then documented in a treat dental disease in small animals.1 standardised manner. Much of what is learnt may be during To further investigate suspected dental or extramural studies or from senior colleagues oral pathology, examination under anaesthesia once in practice. is mandatory. The subgingival structures may Feline tooth roots are long and slender, only be properly assessed using a periodontal and may easily break with poor extraction probe, coupled with dental radiography. technique or equipment choices. Add to Given the likelihood of demonstrating this the frequency with which tooth clinically relevant information by generating resorption (previously known as feline dental radiographs, it is essential that odontoclastic resorptive lesions) is practitioners providing dentistry have access encountered in cats and you have a to (and use!) dental radiography.2 Although the techniques can initially recipe for disaster: multiple be confusing, they are broken teeth, vet stress and quickly mastered and fullfrustration, potential mouth radiographs may be iatrogenic trauma, delayed obtained within minutes. healing, and an unhappy To provide guidance, a client attempting to nurse a detailed, yet practical review chronically painful patient. on the production and Contemporary dentistry interpretation of feline skills should provide a dental radiographs is comfortable patient that included. heals predictably and a Extraction techniques quickly alongside an are also comprehensively impressed and grateful Gold standard dental care requires explored in an exquisite and client. The days of ‘drilling proficiency in intraoral radiography. (a) While clinical examination in this cat painstakingly produced out roots’ should be shows evidence of dramatic tooth step-by-step photographic consigned to the history resorption in the right mandibular canine (404), the left mandibular canine (304) is guide. No more blind books – alongside the seemingly normal. (b) A dental radiograph, drilling of roots, and days when cats didn’t however, reveals that both teeth are wishful thinking! require as much analgesia severely affected by replacement resorption and require treatment The final article in this as dogs or were castrated issue reviews traumatic in a Wellington boot! dentoalveolar and This two-part series maxillofacial injuries in the of clinical reviews arms cat. The association between the practitioner with the the two entities has only contemporary knowledge recently been described.3 and skill set required to it is vital that any cat provide ‘gold standard’ presented with traumatic dental care for all feline maxillofacial injuries – for patients. Furthermore, it instance having fallen from serves as a timely reminder a height or been involved in to referral practitioners to be a road traffic accident – is cognisant of, and respectful also assumed to have one or towards, dental disease or more dentoalveolar injuries dentoalveolar trauma in their b requiring treatment. feline patients. doi: 10.1177/1098612X14552363 © iSFM and AAFP 2014
Downloaded from jfm.sagepub.com at KAI NAN UNIV on March 6, 2015
Contemporary dentistry skills should produce a comfortable patient that heals predictably and quickly alongside a grateful client.
JFMS CLINICAL PRACTICE
871
871_872_Editorial.qxp_FAB 02/10/2014 11:20 Page 872
The second instalment will be published in January 2015 and will concentrate on frequently encountered clinical presentations. A comprehensive article on malocclusions will be the first of its kind to systematically outline the nature of feline malocclusions typically seen in practice. Periodontal disease and tooth resorption may arguably be the most common diseases encountered in practice, and may lead to unrecognised pain, and local plus systemic sequelae for the patient. Two articles will be devoted to the clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment options available for these conditions. Tooth resorption is actually what makes dentistry so difficult for practitioners, especially if they do not have radiography readily available. only by utilising radiography may we make an accurate assessment of the type of resorption and from there determine a suitable treatment option. Spending time blindly trying to drill out a root that perhaps has already been resorbed by the body and replaced by bone makes no sense, and can only lead to unnecessary trauma for the patient. Lastly, we will take a close look at an oft-neglected part of feline dentistry, that of the anaesthetic and analgesic protocol. Hypotension, hypothermia and uncontrolled pain become real risks if this protocol is not carefully considered. Regional anaesthesia is also covered, and can help to provide pre-emptive and multimodal analgesia. We are thrilled to have been part of an intiative merging the disciplines of dentistry, maxillofacial surgery, medicine and anaesthesia to provide, effectively, a feline-
872
JFMS CLINICAL PRACTICE
The days of ‘drilling out roots’ should be consigned to the history books.
specific practical ‘mini-manual’. We’ve purposely set out to combine the experience and expertise of various international leaders in these aforementioned disciplines to produce this multi-faceted resource dedicated to this exciting field. We gratefully acknowledge the immense support and enthusiasm surrounding this project, especially from our international dental, surgical and medical colleagues, as well as those behind the scenes at JFMS. We feel particular gratitude to all authors who have dedicated their time in producing such practical and visually gratifying articles for this educational series. Rachel Perry BSc BVM&S MANZCVS (Small Animal dentistry & oral Surgery) MRCVS [email protected]
Elise Robertson BS BVetMed MACVSc(Feline) dipABVP (Feline) MRCVS [email protected]
Guest Editors JFMS
References 1
2
3
Perry R. Final year veterinary students’ attitudes towards small animal dentistry: a questionnairebased survey. J Small Anim Pract 2014; 55: 457–464. Verstraete FJ, Kass PH and Terpak CH. Diagnostic value of full-mouth radiography in cats. Am J Vet Res 1998; 59: 692–695. Soukup JW, Mulherin BL and Snyder CJ. Prevalence and nature of dentoalveolar injuries among patients with maxillofacial fractures. J Small Anim Pract 2013; 54: 9–14.
Downloaded from jfm.sagepub.com at KAI NAN UNIV on March 6, 2015
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2014) 16, 871–872
EDITORIAL
Still willing to drill? Anecdotally it seems that many vets in in this first issue we begin with oral practice dread feline dental procedures. examination techniques, including the dental education at university level was production of a clinically relevant and woefully deficient during our periods of comprehensive dental chart. A thorough oral study. Although the situation is changing, examination should always be performed on students are still leaving university feeling every feline patient, during every visit to the ill-prepared to adequately diagnose and veterinarian and then documented in a treat dental disease in small animals.1 standardised manner. Much of what is learnt may be during To further investigate suspected dental or extramural studies or from senior colleagues oral pathology, examination under anaesthesia once in practice. is mandatory. The subgingival structures may Feline tooth roots are long and slender, only be properly assessed using a periodontal and may easily break with poor extraction probe, coupled with dental radiography. technique or equipment choices. Add to Given the likelihood of demonstrating this the frequency with which tooth clinically relevant information by generating resorption (previously known as feline dental radiographs, it is essential that odontoclastic resorptive lesions) is practitioners providing dentistry have access encountered in cats and you have a to (and use!) dental radiography.2 Although the techniques can initially recipe for disaster: multiple be confusing, they are broken teeth, vet stress and quickly mastered and fullfrustration, potential mouth radiographs may be iatrogenic trauma, delayed obtained within minutes. healing, and an unhappy To provide guidance, a client attempting to nurse a detailed, yet practical review chronically painful patient. on the production and Contemporary dentistry interpretation of feline skills should provide a dental radiographs is comfortable patient that included. heals predictably and a Extraction techniques quickly alongside an are also comprehensively impressed and grateful Gold standard dental care requires explored in an exquisite and client. The days of ‘drilling proficiency in intraoral radiography. (a) While clinical examination in this cat painstakingly produced out roots’ should be shows evidence of dramatic tooth step-by-step photographic consigned to the history resorption in the right mandibular canine (404), the left mandibular canine (304) is guide. No more blind books – alongside the seemingly normal. (b) A dental radiograph, drilling of roots, and days when cats didn’t however, reveals that both teeth are wishful thinking! require as much analgesia severely affected by replacement resorption and require treatment The final article in this as dogs or were castrated issue reviews traumatic in a Wellington boot! dentoalveolar and This two-part series maxillofacial injuries in the of clinical reviews arms cat. The association between the practitioner with the the two entities has only contemporary knowledge recently been described.3 and skill set required to it is vital that any cat provide ‘gold standard’ presented with traumatic dental care for all feline maxillofacial injuries – for patients. Furthermore, it instance having fallen from serves as a timely reminder a height or been involved in to referral practitioners to be a road traffic accident – is cognisant of, and respectful also assumed to have one or towards, dental disease or more dentoalveolar injuries dentoalveolar trauma in their b requiring treatment. feline patients. doi: 10.1177/1098612X14552363 © iSFM and AAFP 2014
Downloaded from jfm.sagepub.com at KAI NAN UNIV on March 6, 2015
Contemporary dentistry skills should produce a comfortable patient that heals predictably and quickly alongside a grateful client.
JFMS CLINICAL PRACTICE
871
871_872_Editorial.qxp_FAB 02/10/2014 11:20 Page 872
The second instalment will be published in January 2015 and will concentrate on frequently encountered clinical presentations. A comprehensive article on malocclusions will be the first of its kind to systematically outline the nature of feline malocclusions typically seen in practice. Periodontal disease and tooth resorption may arguably be the most common diseases encountered in practice, and may lead to unrecognised pain, and local plus systemic sequelae for the patient. Two articles will be devoted to the clinical presentation, diagnosis and treatment options available for these conditions. Tooth resorption is actually what makes dentistry so difficult for practitioners, especially if they do not have radiography readily available. only by utilising radiography may we make an accurate assessment of the type of resorption and from there determine a suitable treatment option. Spending time blindly trying to drill out a root that perhaps has already been resorbed by the body and replaced by bone makes no sense, and can only lead to unnecessary trauma for the patient. Lastly, we will take a close look at an oft-neglected part of feline dentistry, that of the anaesthetic and analgesic protocol. Hypotension, hypothermia and uncontrolled pain become real risks if this protocol is not carefully considered. Regional anaesthesia is also covered, and can help to provide pre-emptive and multimodal analgesia. We are thrilled to have been part of an intiative merging the disciplines of dentistry, maxillofacial surgery, medicine and anaesthesia to provide, effectively, a feline-
872
JFMS CLINICAL PRACTICE
The days of ‘drilling out roots’ should be consigned to the history books.
specific practical ‘mini-manual’. We’ve purposely set out to combine the experience and expertise of various international leaders in these aforementioned disciplines to produce this multi-faceted resource dedicated to this exciting field. We gratefully acknowledge the immense support and enthusiasm surrounding this project, especially from our international dental, surgical and medical colleagues, as well as those behind the scenes at JFMS. We feel particular gratitude to all authors who have dedicated their time in producing such practical and visually gratifying articles for this educational series. Rachel Perry BSc BVM&S MANZCVS (Small Animal dentistry & oral Surgery) MRCVS [email protected]
Elise Robertson BS BVetMed MACVSc(Feline) dipABVP (Feline) MRCVS [email protected]
Guest Editors JFMS
References 1
2
3
Perry R. Final year veterinary students’ attitudes towards small animal dentistry: a questionnairebased survey. J Small Anim Pract 2014; 55: 457–464. Verstraete FJ, Kass PH and Terpak CH. Diagnostic value of full-mouth radiography in cats. Am J Vet Res 1998; 59: 692–695. Soukup JW, Mulherin BL and Snyder CJ. Prevalence and nature of dentoalveolar injuries among patients with maxillofacial fractures. J Small Anim Pract 2013; 54: 9–14.
Downloaded from jfm.sagepub.com at KAI NAN UNIV on March 6, 2015
