Is this a cat cavity?

[coaster]

There's a dark spot in the crevice of Twink's upper left molar. It seems to be in the tooth enamel. I can't get it out with a scaler. Is this a cavity?

 

[zissou'smom]

Have you still got all your fingers????

It looks vaguely like a cavity to me. Perhaps a dental is in order?

 

[coaster]

It's not a question of "if" it's a question of "when." He had very yellow teeth and mild gingivitis when I adopted him about six months ago. With regular tooth brushing, the gingivitis is gone and the teeth look much whiter. Except for that one spot.

Next question: I suppose the only treatment for a cat cavity is extraction?

 

[xocats]

No doubt about it....
It time to get Twink's teeth check by your vet.
I do not know about extractions.

How did you take that picture?

 

[pondwader]

It does look like a cavity, but a fairly small one I think.
Personally, since they don't do fillings for cats as far as I am aware, and since they have to put the cat under genral anesthetic to either clean or extract teeth, I would just keep an eye on it for any inflammation or indication that it is causing the cat pain before doing anything about it. I'd get the vet to have a look, but just in my opinion, the risks of anesthesia are not worth it unless necessary.
One cat I had many years ago had to go in for cleaning and to have one abscessed tooth extracted, and he did just fine... but it was certainly necessary in his case.

 

[coaster]

Twink's a good kitty. He was cooperative.

Pondwater -- that's kind of what I'm thinking. Since the gingivitis responded well to the toothbrushing, I really don't want to have a dental done just for a small cavity. If the only treatment is extraction, then I might as well wait until he needs one for his whole mouth. As long as it's not bothering him, which is pretty hard to tell for one small cavity in one tooth, I suppose.

 

[zissou'smom]

Cats don't show pain though, and it could well already be very painful. I would strongly advise against waiting until he's obviously in pain because by that point it'll be killing him. Plus, if you're eventually going to have to do a dental, why not do one now so that future problems can be prevented and this tooth be taken care of?

 

[halfpint]

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Have you still got all your fingers????

It looks vaguely like a cavity to me. Perhaps a dental is in order?

If I tried that, My nickname would be nuby

They will let me look but not for to long

 

[coaster]

Originally Posted by Zissou'sMom

Cats don't show pain though,

That's true, and I didn't mean I wanted to wait until it was painful. What I meant was that if it wasn't bothering him, I wanted to wait until he needed a dental cleaning. Which he doesn't right now. So that would be one extra anesthesia and its associated risks he'd have to go through. However, if the tooth could be saved by doing something now, then I would anyway.

 

[coaster]

Later: someone on another board thought it looked like a stain. I don't have any idea what a cavity looks like. I couldn't see very well when the dentist was drilling my teeth.

 

[sar]

From what I understand from my cats' dentals, cavities are generally under the gumline, so you can't see them until they are doing the cleaning. Sadly, yes it does result in extraction of the tooth.

It might be worth asking your vet to be sure

 

[urbantigers]

I agree - best get your vet to take a look. As stated previously, cats often don't show pain and can continue to eat their food without any problem even with serious dental problems. I feel really guilty because I left Jaffa's dental for a while (after the vet said he needed one) as he was eating fine and seemed ok in himself. I noticed a difference in him after he'd had the dental and now think he must have been in some discomfort beforehand.