Hawthorne Hills Veterinary Hospital was lucky to have Dina grace us with her presence starting in June of 2022. She is a beautiful 8 year old Russian Blue who was adopted into a lazy life of adoration after retiring from being a breeder cat. Momma cats are called “queens” and we think that still fits little Dina.
Dina was in pretty good shape when Dr. Eskesen first saw her last June but she was fairly skinny and had been grinding her teeth. When Dr. Eskesen examined her she noticed that Dina did not like her mouth handled and she had a lot of tartar and gingivitis. It appeared Dina may have something called Feline Oral Resorptive Lesions (FORLs). No one knows why these occur but cats can resorb the enamel of their teeth causing pits in the tooth which can be painful and predispose to a tooth infection.
Dr. Eskesen prepared Dina for a teeth cleaning and evaluation under anesthesia. We checked her bloodwork and urine to make sure she was healthy and able to metabolize the anesthetic medications appropriately.
Dina’s owners practiced getting her to eat wet food in case she had to have teeth extracted. This was the hardest part as Dina is a kibble fiend.
In July Dina had her dental procedure. Her teeth were cleaned, evaluated, and x-rayed. Her teeth were actually in very good shape under the tartar and gingivitis and she did not need extractions!
The photos above show the ‘before’ and ‘after’ cleaning – there is still some inflammation along the gum lines (gingivitis) which has improved over time. Regular home care can help keep the gums healthy and reduce the tartar buildup.
We’ve included several of Dina’s radiographs. The roots of cat and dog teeth are about 3 times the length of the crown of the tooth. Changes below the gum line can be painful and radiographs are essential for full evaluation. Fortunately for Dina, her teeth are quite healthy.
It took her a few days to recover from the anesthesia but then she was back to her fiesty, attention loving self and her teeth grinding stopped.
Dina was back at HHVH this June for a wellness visit. Her teeth still look great and she is doing well. She finally gained a little weight but is still a tiny 6 and ½ pounds!
Everyone at Hawthorne Hills Veterinary Hospital loves to see Dina living her best life! 
