Ask the Vet: Consider your pet's oral health

One of the critical components of your pet’s annual visit to the veterinarian is evaluation of oral health.

While that will include evaluation for gum disease, your veterinarian will also be looking for any abnormal growths in the mouth and on the gum line around the teeth. These growths can take on a variety of shapes and forms, ranging form small bumps to larger masses and many times the outward appearance may not reflect the how aggressive a growth may be.

Unfortunately, many oral growths in dogs can be difficult to evaluate without the help of a biopsy. Most often taking a small section of tissue and sending it to a veterinary pathologist will give you an accurate diagnosis which will determine what the next step in treatment will be.

A group of gum tumors formerly classified as epulis, now called peripheral odontogenic fibroma, can range from completely benign to locally aggressive. These growths arise from the periodontal ligament, which attaches the tooth root to the jaw.

Fortunately, this class of tumors does not have the potential to spread or metastasize. One variant does frequently involve the underlying bone of the jaw and surgery is needed to remove the affected tooth and surrounding tissue, which generally is curative. The more benign variants do not need aggressive surgical treatment unless they grow over the tooth and result in an abscess.

The most serious growths can have the potential to spread to other parts of the body, which may be life threatening and early diagnosis is crucial. Oral melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma are the two most common malignancies of the oral cavity. Oral melanoma in dogs does not always have the classic darkly pigmented appearance that people associate with the skin cancer in people and can be easily mistaken for a benign epulis. Unfortunately, by the time of diagnosis in many dogs the cancer has spread to the surrounding lymph nodes.

Complete surgical removal is the first step in treatment. A therapy for malignant melanoma where a vaccine is given that stimulates the immune system. Further testing is required to determine if affected dogs can be a candidate for the therapy and early diagnosis and lower grade tumors tend to respond better. Another type or oral cancer is squamous cell carcinoma and for these animals the prognosis can be much worse. If there is no evidence of the cancer having spread, surgical removal is the best choice. Radiation therapy can be an option as well but would require a trip to a specialty center equipped for the therapy.

As with any type of tumor, oral growth should be evaluated as soon as possible, and you can train your dog or cat to tolerate an at-home exam. Your veterinarian will also monitor your pet’s oral heath as part of the annual checkup and if anything abnormal is detected, early diagnosis, and treatment is critical.

Questions for Dr. Gary Thompson can be emailed to askthevet@theblade.com or mailed to The Blade, Attn. Ask the Vet, 541 N. Superior St. Toledo, OH., 43660. Dr. Thompson regrets that he cannot answer individual letters.