5 Oct 2021
It is hoped new findings could lead to improvements in the treatment of canine periodontal disease, one of the most common diagnoses seen by practising vets.
Paul Imrie
Job Title
Image © Christine Bird / Adobe Stock
Smaller breeds are more likely to develop periodontal disease than larger breeds – a finding researchers hope will aid vets to better treat canine gum and tooth problems.
The largest-of-its-kind data exploration study, published in The Veterinary Journal, has been conducted by Mars Petcare and found smaller breeds such as dachshunds and toy poodles were more predisposed to dental problems than large breed such as boxers or German shepherd dogs.
Although periodontal disease – covering gingivitis and periodontitis – is among the most commonly diagnosed problems in first opinion practice, it still remains under-diagnosed.
More than three million medical records covering 60 breeds at Banfield Pet Hospital sites in the US were analysed and found that 18.2% of dogs had periodontal disease.
When reviewing data by dog size, extra-small dogs weighing less than 6.5kg were up to five times more likely to be diagnosed than breeds of or heavier than 25kg. A dog’s age, weight, and time since last scale and polish were other factors.
The five breeds with the highest prevalence of periodontal disease found in the study were the large greyhound (38.7%), the medium-small Shetland sheepdog (30.6%), and the extra-small papillon (29.7%), toy poodle (28.9%) and miniature poodle (28.2%). Giant breeds, such as the great Dane and St Bernard, were among the lowest breed prevalence estimates.
Study investigators noted that small dogs may have proportionally larger teeth that can lead to overcrowding and increased plaque buildup, leading to inflamed gums. Small dogs also have less alveolar bone.
Corrin Wallis, microbiome workstream leader at Waltham Petcare Science Institute, said: “This is not the first study suggesting that smaller dogs are more likely to have dental problems than larger dogs, but many of the earlier studies looked at a relatively small number of dogs.
“Regardless of the reasons that smaller dogs have increased risk for periodontal disease, knowing the true magnitude of the risk across breeds is an important step in providing quality care for all dogs, both in the veterinarian’s office and at home.”
