Know more.
Act earlier.

They would like you to know that. And their dental needs are different, too.

Common issues: tooth resorption (FORL), gum disease, and abscesses. Resorptive lesions begin below the surface — only radiology can find them. Teeth can look clean while causing significant pain.

When visible, lesions appear as small red spots at the gumline, often mistaken for minor gum injuries. The process is slow and painful. Surgical extraction is the only treatment.

Cats are also more likely to hide discomfort than dogs. A cat with significant dental disease may eat normally, groom normally, and show no behavioral change until the condition is advanced. Subtle shifts — slightly less enthusiasm at meal time, a preference for one side when chewing, occasional head shaking — are easy to miss.

Stomatitis is another condition seen almost exclusively in cats. It causes severe inflammation of the mouth and gums, often beyond what typical periodontal disease produces. Affected cats may drool, resist having their face touched, or lose weight gradually. Treatment varies, but in many cases extraction of most or all teeth provides the most lasting relief — and most cats eat comfortably afterward.

Home dental care for cats is harder than for dogs. Most cats do not tolerate brushing — and they will make sure you know it. Water additives and dental diets can help slow buildup, but they are not a substitute for professional subgingival treatment. Annual dental radiographs are the most reliable way to catch problems before they become painful.

Toy breeds got the full set of teeth on a smaller jaw. The crowding does the rest.

Yorkies, Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Maltese, Shih Tzus, and most toy breeds — disease starts earlier than most owners expect. Crowded jaws where teeth touch, overlap, and sometimes rotate. Disease is almost entirely periodontal: progressive, below the gumline, invisible until advanced.

Many benefit from COHAT every 6 months — not arbitrary, reflects how quickly disease recurs in a crowded mouth. Starting early gives you more room. Home care slows the progression, and professional subgingival treatment resets the clock.

Retained baby teeth are common in small breeds. When a deciduous tooth doesn't fall out on its own, the adult tooth erupts alongside it, creating a double row that traps food and bacteria in a space that's nearly impossible to clean. Retained teeth should be extracted — leaving them accelerates the disease they cause.

Crowding is not just cosmetic. When teeth overlap or rotate, the gum tissue between them can't form a healthy seal. Bacteria colonize the gap. Bone loss follows. By the time the tooth is visibly loose, the bone underneath has been eroding for months. This is why radiographs matter more in small breeds than in almost any other patient — the surface tells you very little.

Home care helps but faces practical limits. Brushing a Chihuahua's teeth requires patience, a very small brush, and a Chihuahua who has agreed to the arrangement. Dental chews sized for toy breeds are worth using. But for most small dogs, consistent professional care at a realistic frequency does more than sporadic home efforts alone.

Big dogs love hard chews. Their teeth would prefer otherwise.

Large dogs fracture teeth more often — slab fractures of the upper fourth premolar are common and frequently asymptomatic. Only radiographs reveal root involvement. With good home care, the interval between exams can often be extended.

Large-breed procedures involve fewer teeth and more complex extractions. The highest risk to large breeds is the root fracture you don't know about.

Most slab fractures happen from chewing hard objects — antlers, bones, hooves, hard nylon toys, and ice. If you can't dent it with your fingernail, it can fracture a tooth. The things dogs love most are often the things their teeth handle worst.

A fractured tooth may cause no obvious symptoms — some dogs chew around it, others show no change at all. When the fracture exposes the pulp — the nerve and blood supply inside the tooth — infection sets in at the root. That infection sits in the jawbone, often for months, visible only on radiographs. It doesn't resolve on its own.

Periodontal disease still happens in large breeds, just less often than in small ones. The larger root surface means more bone is lost before the tooth becomes visibly loose. Large dogs also tend to be stoic about it — a Lab with a root abscess will still fetch and still eat, acting like everything is wonderful. Sometimes they chew more to soothe irritation. That's the problem.

For large breeds in good dental health with consistent home care, 12–36 months between professional cleanings is a reasonable starting point. Your pet's specific interval depends on what we find at each visit.