How often for FORL dentals ?

[carlieebug]

My cat (3 years old) back in May of this year had to have two bottom teeth removed because of resorptive lesions. He did well with recovery and only got bad off when my old vet gave him a depo medrol injection without my say so and he was very ill for weeks and it absolutely terrified me to have him go back to any vet. But he snapped out of it and I got him to a new vet. I started brushing his teeth daily and his bad breath is almost completely gone. I can’t fully brush his teeth because he absolutely hates it but I do what I can.

I took him to the vet yesterday and he said that he doesn’t see any bad plaque but I said to schedule another dental because it comes with xrays and I want to make sure he didn’t get more lesions. My two questions are:

is it too soon to do another dental? His last one was in May.

how fast do resorptive lesions grow back? Is it possible that he will never have them again?

He is eating and drinking normally but does seem to be annoyed when I try and touch and pet under his chin. But I think he could just not like being pet there as he’s very finicky to begin with.

thanks!

 

[jen]

First of all good for you for being proactive with dentals. They are SO important and et so many people don't bother with them. It has been 3 months, on a 3 year old cat so I would say you are probably good for the year. Plan on another one next May and you should be ok.

 

[carlieebug]

First of all good for you for being proactive with dentals. They are SO important and et so many people don't bother with them. It has been 3 months, on a 3 year old cat so I would say you are probably good for the year. Plan on another one next May and you should be ok.

Well it’s been 6 months but yeah it seemed to be too soon. I just really hate to think of him in pain, ya know?

 

[jen]

Wow yeah you are right lol, I meant to say that, I was focused on the 3 year old cat lol, sorry.

 

[jen]

Its 2am here lol, I am too sleepy to be messaging coherently I guess

 

[carlieebug]

Its 2am here lol, I am too sleepy to be messaging coherently I guess

It’s okay! Haha. I had to re-read and write that a bunch before I posted

 

[denice]

It seems a too soon to me but that is a call for your vet to make. There is no set pattern to these things. They really aren't completely sure what causes them so they think it is some type of autoimmune thing. They were found in the cats in the Egyptian tombs. Patches had three of them and he lived to 15. I have heard of other cats in which they were much more aggressive and ended up with full mouth extractions. You are right though, by the time they can be seen the lesion is advanced and the cat has been in pain for awhile. One thing my vet told me was that in her experience the matching tooth either above or below will become affected as well. That is purely anecdotal, something she had noticed in her experience.

 

[neely]

Two of my cats have had FORL and teeth extractions more than once. I tend to agree with the above members that it sounds too soon but talk to your new vet and discuss whether it's absolutely necessary to schedule another dental so soon or if it can wait until next May.

 

[carlieebug]

Two of my cats have had FORL and teeth extractions more than once. I tend to agree with the above members that it sounds too soon but talk to your new vet and discuss whether it's absolutely necessary to schedule another dental so soon or if it can wait until next May.

I made a decision and will wait until May! He says he thinks that’s best but if he stops eating or struggles to eat, bring him in.

 

[daftcat75]

Have a discussion with your vet about the future of his mouth. Krista's vets were happy to do most of the extractions and root cleanups as they became problematic. But when we got down to her last few teeth, her usual doctors clammed up and said they no longer feel comfortable working with her mouth and recommend that I see a veterinary dentist for her remaining teeth. Well, this has put us in a very difficult situation as there aren't many vet dentists and they're nearly all booked from 1 month to 6 months out just for a consultation. I'm now giving Krista pain medicine twice a day and begging her to eat small but frequent portions to get her from here until her dentist consultation. It could be another two to three weeks before she can get a procedure if the dentist says he can help her. If he has confidence he can help her, I will stick a feeding tube in her if she needs help getting from now until then.

Long story short, FORLs can become a difficult condition to treat especially if your vet decides to pass you off to a dentist like mine did. If you have a board certified veterinary dentist (a specialist beyond a DVM) in your area, I'd book a consultation before you think he needs one. It may save you valuable time later if you can skip the consultation waiting period.