Cat cavities

I took another stray to the vet, no teeth were rotten some had a little tartar but not bad. The vet said he has 2 small cavities but they don't do fillings on animals so basically all they can do is wait till they start causing pain and then pull them. Is this true?

This might be Feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion

Could really use some advice...

Two of my cats recently had extractions due to FORLs. They are very painful for the cat. They are much happier now that the painful teeth are removed and have no problem eating. If you do decide to have the teeth extracted, I would get pre-dental bloodwork done to make sure there are no underlying issues before the kitty goes under anethesia.

It is true that you cannot "fill in" FORLs. The odontoclast cells will continue to eat away at the tooth, and the only way to stop it is to extract the tooth.
 

I have no idea how you'd tell if the FORL is causing the kitty pain, as cats are so darn good at hiding pain. They're usually "treated" by surgically removing the tooth. Our Sheldon had FORL in two teeth - his roots had been completely resorbed and replaced with calcium. They removed the remaining crowns.

Description: http://www.veterinarydentalcenter.com/catcase_1.htm

Treatment:

http://www.avds-online.org/info/felinelesions.html

http://www.catsmeowvets.com/forls.htm

It seems there is no stopping progression of the disease without tooth removal, though you can talk to the vet about the flouride gel?

I have seen no information where bovine lactoferrin treats FORL, but it helps with stomatitis/gingivitis. It couldn't hurt, I don't think (especially as it helps regulate the immune system) http://veterinarycalendar.dvm360.com/avhc/content/printContentPopup.jsp?id=610668

This cat is 8 and had a pre screen before getting his teeth cleaned and he is very healthy.

The big problem here is he's a stray, I cannot give him the care a pet would get, getting him into a vet is a challenge at best. After reading that he has lots of pain coming I don't know what to do plus I know I don't have money for that much tooth care, that's why he is a stray and not a pet I can't afford him and its so sad because he used to be someone's pet, he was abandoned and is the sweetest cat. Perhaps his health issues might be why he was abandoned, very sad.

Now I feel awful because I probably can't help him much with mouth problems.

My cat has one lesion.  The vet probed it with a dental hook like they use on people and only got a small reaction.  She left it up to me.  My cat probably does have some liver damage even though it doesn't show up on bloodwork because of past problems so we're careful about anesthetic. I decided to wait and see.  He doesn't even get any vaccinations anymore.   She told me that in the past vets have tried to fill them with no success.  They are an autoimmune thing and she said they were found in cats that had been placed in the ancient pyramids so whatever causes them have been with cats since they were domesticated or before.

Yeh, it's a tough call. Cats are very good at hiding pain, but I could tell, especially with my Boo. He would spit out the little bit of dry food he gets. He didn't want to be touched anywhere around his head and would "duck" if I reached for his cheek/chin area. He also "chattered" quite a bit if I probed the infected teeth gently with a soft q-tip. Obviously, this would be difficult to do with a stray. Now that the teeth are extracted, he LOVES getting his face and chin rubbed, and he eats comfortably.
 

Just took one cat to the vet. She has two visible FORL teeth, the vet can't tell yet if there are more (my cat was less than cooperative under exam). The estimated cost was WOW at between $600-$800, and that doesn't include x-rays. Is this in the right ball park?

With respect to x-rays, I'm not sure my vet even has the equipment to take mouth x-rays, and she didn't mention them. it seems like they would be useful, but will add to the cost. In the past, we've been to a dental specialist down the freeway when a different cat had a mouth problem. Would it be better to go to him for the whole procedure? My regular vet says she can do the surgery, just trying to figure out what's best. Thanks!

Dentals, especially with extractions, are expensive.  If you're not sure about this vet I would take her to the specialist.  Xrays need to be taken of her mouth because their could be bad teeth that aren't visible.  The roots could be severely damaged or the damage could be inside the tooth.  A vet also needs to really know what their doing when they extract a cat's teeth because it is possible for someone who doesn't really know what they are doing to break her jaw.  I know it's a huge expense, but if at all possible I would want to make sure she was getting the best care.

I understand expensive. Another cat has bladder cancer and we've spent thousands on his care, this year alone. We've not had to do tooth extractions before, i wasn't expecting it, so I guess the quote caught me off guard.

The lack of x-ray concerns me. I will call the dental vet today and see what he thinks. Hopefully our regular vet won't take it personally if we go that route. Thanks for the feedback.

My vet likes to do pre- and post- extraction x-rays, and they do them in-house. (Pre to make sure they identify and analyze all teeth that need to come out, and post to make sure they got everything and that the jaw looks okay.) Yes, x-rays are expensive, but the individual cost of anesthesia and extractions were more (at least a my vet). The FORLs on Boo's bottom canine teeth were so bad, that they were crumbling as they were being extracted. Overall, two FORLs were visible from the outside; the third was not and only identified through an x-ray.

If your regular vet doesn't have the equipment, they shouldn't get offended by you wanting to get the dental and/or x-rays at a specialist facility. You can always go back to your regular vet if you like them for general care, and you can reassure them of that if they seem taken aback.