Why would my cat need extractions?

Extractions occur if a tooth is unhealthy. There is not much worse than having to extract a cat's tooth. It's one of my least favorite things to do. The teeth are so tiny, so it's complicated. It's not fun for the cat or the owner. But if we're going to get this cat's mouth healthy, it has to be done in many cases. So if we have these resorptive tooth lesions, you get this diseased and painful tooth out of the way for this cat. If we have periodontal disease, it's causing some root exposure. This tooth is only going to be a continual problem and source of pain for this cat. And honestly, it's going to lead to infection that spreads throughout the rest of the body. So, if a tooth is diseased beyond us being able to save it, it's better to extract this tooth and give the cat a healthy mouth again.

There’s also a syndrome called stomatitis complex in kitties. And it is a strange immune-mediated response to minor tartar and calculus buildup on the crown of the tooth. Because of severe inflammation and severe pain, we’ll see these cats drooling. We’ll smell a powerful odor from the mouth. And these cats many times come in having lost weight. The only actual treatment is extraction of those teeth. And everybody says, "Oh my gosh, I can't do that to this cat. How are they going to eat?" Well, they eat better, is what they do. After getting the pain and inflammation out, these cats feel great. I know of two cats in this clinic who have no teeth. We've extracted all the teeth because of this syndrome. But these two cats will not even eat canned food. They only eat dry food. They'll starve themselves as opposed to eating the canned food. Cats deal with it fabulously and feel so much better.