Breed Predisposition to Oral Disease: The Boxer Finale

Attrition:

• What is attrition?
• The wearing away of a tooth as a result of tooth-to-tooth contact
• What causes attrition?
• Malocclusions or “bad bites” which cause teeth to rub against other teeth
• In Boxers the maxillary incisors usually rub on the inner surface of the mandibular canines or incisors
• Is attrition the only cause of tooth wear?
• Tooth abrasion is the pathologic wearing away of the tooth by rubbing
•  Aggressive tooth brushing, bruxism (grinding teeth), excessive gnawing on fur, tennis balls and kennel doors can cause tooth abrasion

Breed Predisposition to Oral Disease: The Boxer Part 5 Epulides

Epulides:

• What are epulides?
• Epulis is a term that means: any benign lesion on the gingiva.
• A veterinary dentist usually means: a noncancerous growth coming from the ligaments that anchor a tooth in the jaw bone.
• Epulides may be fibromatous (mostly soft tissue), ossifying (contains some bone) or acanthomatous (causes soft tissue and bone to break down).
• What causes epulides?
• No one really knows why epulides grow.
• Boxers seem to be predisposed to developing fibromatous epulides.

Breed Predisposition to Oral Disease: The Boxer Part 4

 

Gingival hyperplasia:

• What is gingival hyperplasia?
• An increase in size and thickness of the soft tissue which surrounds a tooth results in overgrowth of the gums (gingiva).
• Frequently, the gums grow large enough to completely cover the teeth.
• What causes gingival hyperplasia?
• An exaggerated reaction by the gingiva to bacteria and tartar on the teeth.  Usually periodontal diseases cause gingiva to recede. Boxers have the opposite reaction.
• Certain medications used to treat seizures, allergies, infection or high blood pressure can cause gingival hyperplasia. This is usually reversible if the medications can be stopped.