RC638 (1).pdf

Revista Cienﬁca, FCV-LUZ / Vol. XXXV Recibido: 19/02/2025 Aceptado: 07/05/2025 Publicado: 05/06/2025 hps://doi.org/10.52973/rcfcv-e35638 UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA Serbiluz Sistema de Servicios Bibliotecarios y de Información Biblioteca Digital Repositorio Académico 1 of 5 Retrospecve study of the frequency of feline oral diseases at the Denstry Service of the Hospital of the Veterinary School in Uruguay Estudio retrospecvo de la frecuencia de enfermedades orales en felinos atendidos en el servicio de odontología del Hospital de la Facultad de Veterinaria del Uruguay Agustina Algorta 1,2 , Laura Tejera 1,2,3 , Gabriela Turini 3 , Juan Eguren 3,4 , Andrés Gil 5 , Kevin Yaneselli 1* ¹Unidad de Inmunología e Inmunoterapia, Departamento de Patobiología, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, PC: 13000, Montevideo, Uruguay. ²Servicio de Odontología, Departamento de Clínicas y Hospital Veterinario, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República (Udelar), Montevideo, Uruguay. ³Unidad de Imagenología, Análisis Clínicos y LEMA, Departamento de Clínicas y Hospital Veterinario, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Uruguay ⁴Unidad de Cirugía y anestesia de pequeños animales. Departamento de Clínicas y Hospital Veterinaria. ⁵Unidad de Bioestadisica, Departamento de Salud Pública, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de la República, Uruguay *Corresponding author: kevin.yaneselli@fvet.edu.uy ABSTRACT Oral disorders represent a common reason for veterinary consultaons worldwide among felines. However, epidemiological studies in feline denstry are notably lacking in internaonal literature. Thus, this study aims to establish a casuistry of oral disorders in felines admied to the Denstry Service of the Veterinary Hospital Centre (DSVHC) Veterinary School in Uruguay. A retrospecve analysis of clinical records from the dental clinic at the DSVHC between 2014 and July 2019 was conducted. This study evaluated the number of felines, age, sex, reason for consultaon, diagnosis, and the associaon between primary pathologies and age/sex variables. Forty-six feline dental consultaons were documented, including 28 male and 18 female felines. The most common reasons for consultaon were halitosis, pain, and salivaon. The most prevalent oral disorders among felines included feline chronic gingivostomas (FCGS) at 69.6%, periodontal disease (PD) at 45.7%, and feline odontoclasc resorpve lesions (FORL) at 23.9%. Moreover, 39.1% exhibited a combinaon of FCGS and PD, 19.6% FCGS and FORL, and 13% simultaneous FCGS, PD, and FORL. The mean ages for FCGS, PD, and FORL were 9.1± 3.3, 10.1 ± 3.6, and 10 ± 3.1 years, respecvely. Other diagnoses included oral neoplasms, malocclusions, osteomyelis, alveolar osteis, and chronic renal insuﬃciency. In conclusion, this study sheds light on the most prevalent oral disorders in feline dental pracce and their common associaons, along with idenfying the age groups in which they are most prevalent. Key words: Case studies; casuistry; oral diseases feline RESUMEN Los trastornos orales representan un movo de consulta frecuente de pacientes felinos. Sin embargo, faltan estudios epidemiológicos en odontología felina en la literatura internacional. Así, este estudio ene como objevo establecer una casuísca de los trastornos orales en felinos ingresados en el Servicio de Odontología del Centro Hospitalario Veterinario (SOCHV) de Facultad de Veterinaria en Uruguay. Se realizó un análisis retrospecvo de las historias clínicas de la clínica odontológica del SOCHV entre 2014 y julio de 2019. Se evaluó el número de felinos, su edad, sexo, movo de consulta, diagnósco y la asociación entre patologías primarias y variables edad/sexo. Se documentaron 46 consultas dentales felinas, incluidos 28 felinos machos y 18 hembras. Los movos de consulta más frecuentes fueron halitosis, dolor y salivación. Los trastornos bucales más prevalentes entre los felinos incluyeron la gingivoestomas crónica felina (GECF) con un 69,6 %, la enfermedad periodontal (EP) con un 45,7 % y las lesiones de odontocláscas reabsorvas felina (LORF) con un 23,9 %. Además, el 39,1% presentó en simultaneo GECF y EP, el 19,6% GECF y LORF, y el 13% GECF, EP y LORF. Las edades medias para GECF, EP y LORF fueron 9,1 ± 3,3, 10,1 ± 3,6 y 10 ± 3,1 años, respecvamente. Otros diagnóscos incluyeron neoplasias orales, maloclusiones, osteomielis, osteís alveolar e insuﬁciencia renal crónica. En conclusión, este estudio arroja luz sobre los trastornos bucales más prevalentes en la prácca odontológica felina y sus asociaciones comunes, además de idenﬁcar los grupos de edad en los que son más prevalentes. Palabras clave: Estudios de caso; casuísca; trastornos bucales; felino

Revista Cienﬁca, FCV-LUZ / Vol. XXXV UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA Serbiluz Sistema de Servicios Bibliotecarios y de Información Biblioteca Digital Repositorio Académico INTRODUCTION Cats as pets have signiﬁcantly increased globally in recent years, resulng in an increased frequency of Veterinary consultaons. This upck in consultaons may correlate with heightened owner/guardian responsibility and awareness concerning their pets’ health [1]. Oral and skin condions, along with obesity, are the most prevalent disorders diagnosed [2 , 3]. Oral diseases oﬅen manifest with nonspeciﬁc but severe symptoms such as weight loss, anorexia, and both acute and chronic pain in felines [4]. Reports from various countries highlight periodontal disease (PD), feline odontoclasc resorpve lesions (FORL), and feline chronic gingivostomas (FCGS) as the most prevalent feline oral diseases [3 , 5 , 6]. Despite their impact on feline quality of life, there is a signiﬁcant lack of naonal reports regarding the casuistry of oral diseases. Such reports could greatly assist professionals in understanding the frequency and presentaon of these condions. Therefore, this study aims to establish a casuistry of oral disorders in felines admied to the Denstry Service of the Veterinary Hospital Centre (DSVHC) in Uruguay. Addionally, the study aimed to explore potenal associaons between these diseases and the age and sex of the paents. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospecve analysis was conducted on the clinical records of felines aending consultaons at the DSVHC, Veterinary School, Universidad de la República (Udelar), spanning from 2014 to July 2019. Data encompassing the consultaon date, paent history, breed, sex, age, and reason for consultaon were documented. Addionally, the anamnesis, feline immunodeﬁciency virus (FIV), and feline leukemia virus (FeLV) fast test and the presumpve or deﬁnive diagnosis were recorded. The reference populaon ulized comprised the total number of cat consultaons in general medicine consultaon at the Veterinary Hospital Centre. Stascal analysis The database was digized for descripve analysis of the various variables. Hypotheses regarding the independence of the most prevalent feline oral disorders concerning other categorical variables were assessed using Fisher’s exact test or the Chi-square test (Chi 2 ) as deemed appropriate. Stascal analysis was performed using Stata MP 14.0 soﬅware. The signiﬁcance level for rejecng null hypotheses was set at P < 0.05, with trends evaluated for p < 0.10. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS Descripon of the reference populaon A total of 9,878 general pracce consultaons were recorded during the study period, with 16.3% (1,607) aributed to feline consultaons. The absolute number of feline consultaons remained relavely stable throughout the study period. However, in 2018, there was a higher percentage of feline consultaons (21%) compared to 2014 (12%). Conversely, while the absolute number of dog consultaons decreased, the percentages remained relavely consistent (TABLE I). The populaon consisted of 854 (53.9%) males and 731 (46.1%) females, with the majority being under 2 years of age. TABLE I. Distribuon of consultaons by year and species received by the Veterinary Hospital Centre of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine between 2014 and 2019. Year Feline consultaons Canine consultaons Total consultaon 2014 251 (12.3%) 1788 (87.7%) 2039 2015 345 (17%) 1685 (83%) 2030 2016 256 (15.6%) 1383 (84.4%) 1639 2017 273 (17.1%) 1324 (82.9%) 1597 2018 345 (21%) 1300 (79%) 1645 2019* 137 (14.7%) 791 (85.3%) 928 *unl July 2019 Descripon of dental consultaons There was a total of 46 felines and 116 canine consultaons during the study period. Feline consultaons exhibited an increasing trend, rising from 9.1% in 2014 to 56.3% in 2018, with a subsequent increase to 31.8% in up to July 2019 (TABLE II). Most of the cats were mixed breed, except for 3 siamese and 1 exoc. The average age of feline paents was 9.1±4.4 years, ranging from 1 to 20 years, signiﬁcantly diﬀering from the reference populaon’s age distribuon (P<0.001). The most common reasons for consultaon were halitosis, pain, and salivaon (FIG. 1). Regarding sex of the feline populaon, 60.9% were males and 39.1% were females. Results for FIV and FELV revealed a posivity rate of 28.3% (14 cats) between 2017 and 2019. TABLE II. Distribuon of consultaons by year and species received by the Denstry Service of the Veterinary Hospital Centre between 2014 and 2019. Year Feline consultaons Canine consultaons Total consultaons 2014 2 (9.1%) 20 (90.9%) 22 2015 6 (26.1%) 17 (73.9%) 23 2016 5 (13.5%) 32 (86.5%) 37 2017 8 (44.4%) 10 (55.5%) 18 2018 18 (56.2%) 20 (43.7%) 32 2019* 7 (31.8%) 17 (69.2%) 22 *unl July 2019 2 of 5

Feline oral diseases at the Denstry / Algorta et al. UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA Serbiluz Sistema de Servicios Bibliotecarios y de Información Biblioteca Digital Repositorio Académico FIGURE 1. Distribuon of reasons for consultaon of felines aending the denstry service in the period 2014-2019 A reference populaon was established for comparave analysis of dental consultaons. A total of 46 feline paents aended dental consultaons during the study period. A notable increase in dental consultaons occurred in 2018, rising from merely 2 paents in 2014 (9.1%) to 18 in 2018 (56.5%). This trend has been consistently rising since 2017 and connued through 2019. Such an uptrend might be aributed to the heightened global interest in feline health among pet owners [1]. Oral diseases diagnosed The most frequently diagnosed diseases included FCGS (69.6%), PD (45.7%), and FORL (23.9%). The average age of aﬀected animals was over 9 years (TABLE III; FIG. 2). TABLE III. Distribuon of diagnoses of oral disorders received by the Denstry Service of the Veterinary Hospital Centre between 2014 and 2019 Diagnosis Frequency of diagnosis Age (year) Sex F M FCGS 32/46 (69,6%) 9,1±3,3 12 (37.5%) 20 (62.5%) PD 21/46 (45,7%) 10,1±3,6 6 (28.6%) 15 (71.4%) FORL 11/46 (23,9%) 10±3,1 4 (36.4%) 7 (63.6%) Neoplasms 4/46 (6,5%) 12,7±4,6 3 (75%) 1 (25%) Malocclusion 2/46 (4,3%) 3,1±3,8 0 2 (100%) Osteomyelis 1/46 (2,2%) 2* 0 1 (100%) Alveolar osteis 1/46 (2,2%) 9* 0 1 (100%) CKD 1/46 (2,2%) 10* 0 1 (100%) The number of paents with each diagnosis out of the total is indicated and the corresponding percentage is shown in brackets. A paent may have more than one diagnosis at a me; F: female, M: male, FCGS: feline chronic gingivostomas, PD: periodontal disease, and FORL: feline odontoclasc resorpve lesion, CKD: chronic kidney disease. FIGURE 2. Age distribuon of feline paents aending the denstry service in the period 2014-2019 Other diagnosed diseases were oral tumors, malocclusion, osteomyelis, alveolar osteis, and chronic renal failure, together amounng to 17.4%. Regarding cytological studies of neoplasms, squamous cell carcinoma, sublingual myoblastoma, and adenocarcinoma of the soﬅ palate were observed with an average age of 12.7 ± 4.6 years. The malocclusions diagnosed were a deviaon of the upper canine in a 7-month-old feline and the other case was a lingualized upper canine that deviated the lower canine and incisor teeth on the same side in a 7-year-old Persian. One case was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease, a 10-year-old male feline presented with symptoms of oral mucosal ulcers. On the other hand, a 9-year-old paent showed alveolar osteis of the upper canines, and a 2-year-old paent presented with mandibular osteomyelis, a consequence of an old mandibular fracture that deviated a lower canine towards the vesbular region. A total of 73 diagnoses were recorded due to the fact that paents in some cases had more than one disease. Associaon between diagnosed diseases a) Simultaneous diseases: 39.1% presented FCGS+PD, 19.6% FCGS+FORL, and 13% FCGS+PD+FORL, simultaneously (FIG. 3). b) Age associaon: The majority of paents aending the DSVHC were diagnosed with FCGS, PD, or FORL falling in the 6 to 9-year age range. This was signiﬁcantly higher (P<0.001) than the average age distribuon (<2 years) of the reference populaon. c) Sex associaon: Males exhibited a higher frequency of PD compared to the reference populaon (P=0.053), though no associaon was found between sex and FCGS or FORL. 3 of 5

Revista Cienﬁca, FCV-LUZ / Vol. XXXV UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA Serbiluz Sistema de Servicios Bibliotecarios y de Información Biblioteca Digital Repositorio Académico FIGURE 3. Associaon between the main oral diseases in felines during the period 2014-2019. FCGS: feline chronic gingivostomas (FCGS), PD: periodontal disease, and FORL: feline odontoclasc resorpve lesions The most frequent reasons for consultaon included halitosis, pain, and salivaon, all with equal frequency. Following closely was anorexia, trailed by tumors, bleeding, weight loss, and receding gums. These observaons indicate that oral alteraons in felines typically manifest with pain or discomfort, which concern owners, or halitosis, prompng consultaons. Common symptoms of FCGS primarily comprise anorexia, dysphagia, weight loss, salivaon, halitosis, bleeding, and facial pawing [7]. These ﬁndings align with the recorded reasons for consultaon in this study and the notable percentage of FCGS cases encountered in denstry consultaons. Hence, these results reaﬃrm the non-speciﬁc nature of clinical signs in felines with oral diseases and their systemic repercussions. Previous studies [8] concerning a feline populaon vising general clinics in the United Kingdom showed that common reasons for consultaon in cats included voming, weight loss, and inappetence. Similarly, frequent physical ﬁndings during paent examinaons were weight loss and dental calculus. These ﬁndings, highlight the typically non-speciﬁc reasons for feline consultaons. Consequently, roune oral cavity evaluaons are imperave, and oral diseases should be considered diﬀerenally in cats exhibing symptoms such as weight loss, anorexia, or pain. The primary diseases diagnosed in this study were FCGS (69.9%), PD (45.7%), and FORL (23.9%). However, compared to other studies, FCGS has a relavely low prevalence, up to 26% [9] in general consultaons, with PD being the predominant oral disorder [2 , 3 , 5]. These discrepancies may stem from the speciﬁc focus of the study on animals referred to a denstry service, leading to a populaon bias. The present study exclusively evaluated animals with oral diseases. The observed higher frequency of FCGS could be aributed to its more noceable and severe symptoms, easily discernible by owners. Notably, all relapsing paents presented FCGS either as the sole pathology or in conjuncon with others, indicang the disease’s severity and the challenges in symptom management despite treatment. The incidence of PD as the primary disease was 46%. Previous studies show that examinaons with awake cats noted PD in 30% of cases, but with anesthezed cats, the rate rises to 78% [10]. These results emphasize that the percepon of pain by the owners is the main reason that movates the consultaon. These results are consistent with previous reports which found that the prevalence of FORL among cats with periodontal disease was 29.03% [11]. However, other studies have reported higher FORL prevalence, such as 49.3% [12], 66% [13], 72.5% [14], and even 8.8% when diagnosis is not aided by radiograph [5]. These variaons could be aributed to diﬀerences in the mean age of the evaluated groups, as the study populaon averaged 10 years, whereas other studies had mean ages of 3.5 [11], 8.5 [14], and 9 years [12]. Age has been idenﬁed as a factor associated with FORL, with the likelihood of lesions increasing with age [13 , 14 , 15 , 16]. The average age of the study populaon was 9 years, with the majority between 6 and 9 years old. Paents diagnosed with FCGS, PD, and FORL were signiﬁcantly older (P<0.001) than the reference populaon. The age distribuon of the dental paents populaon also signiﬁcantly diﬀered from the reference populaon, with the majority being younger than 2 years, indicang that feline dental paents tend to be older. These ﬁndings resonate with literature suggesng that older cats (≥8 years) have a higher prevalence of oral disorders [3]. In the case of FCGS, the average age was 9 years, consistent with previous studies that reported mean ages of 7 years [7], 6.4 years [6] or classiﬁed as young adults [17]. For PD, it was found a mean age of 10 years, in line with descripons of older paents commonly associated with this disorder. Male cats predominantly presented with PD, indicang a stascal trend. However, no signiﬁcant diﬀerences were found between sex and the presence of FORL or FCGS. These ﬁndings align with studies that reported no signiﬁcant sex-associated diﬀerences in periodontal disease prevalence. Conversely, other studies [3] observed a higher prevalence of PD and oral cavity disorders in males, which is consistent with the observed tendency for PD in males. CONCLUSION During the period spanning from 2014 to July 2019, a total of 46 feline dental consultaons were documented, with a notable increase observed in consultaons over this meframe. The primary reasons for consultaon to the Denstry Service of the Veterinary Hospital Centre included halitosis, pain, salivaon, and anorexia. Among the diagnosed oral diseases, feline chronic gingivostomas (FCGS) was the most prevalent, accounng for 69.6% of feline consultaons, followed by periodontal disease (PD) at 45.7% and feline odontoclasc resorpve lesions (FORL) at 23.91%. These diseases oﬅen present in associaon, parcularly PD and FCGS. The age group most aﬀected by these condions ranged from 6 to 9 years. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors thank Universidad de la República (UdelaR) for their ﬁnancial support. Conﬂict of interest The authors declare no conﬂict of interest. Authors’ contribuons All authors contributed equally to the concepon and wring of the manuscript. All authors crically revised the manuscript and approved the ﬁnal version. 4 of 5

Feline oral diseases at the Denstry / Algorta et al. UNIVERSIDAD DEL ZULIA Serbiluz Sistema de Servicios Bibliotecarios y de Información Biblioteca Digital Repositorio Académico BIBLIOGRAPHICS REFERENCES [1] Benítez C, Olivera J, Delucchi L. Estudio de la consulta neurológica felina en el Hospital de Facultad de Veterinaria durante el periodo enero 2009 a diciembre 2014. Vet. [Internet]. 2016 [cited Dec 18 2024]; 52(204):4–10. Available in: hps://goo.su/Vmz0ePZ [2] O’Neill DG, Church DB, McGreevy PD, Thomson PC, Brodbelt DC. Prevalence of disorders recorded in cats aending primary-care veterinary pracces in England. Vet. J. [Internet]. 2014; 202(2):286–291. doi: hps://doi. org/f6v8vk [3] O’Neill DG, Gunn-Moore D, Sorrell S, McAuslan H, Church DB, Pegram C, Brodbelt DC. Commonly diagnosed disorders in domesc cats in the UK and their associaons with sex and age. J. Feline Med. Surg. [Internet]. 2023; 25(2):1098612X231155016. doi: hps://doi.org/ppjj [4] Winer JN, Arzi B, Verstraete FJM. Therapeuc Management of Feline Chronic Gingivostomas: A Systemac Review of the Literature. Front Vet. Sci. [Internet]. 2016; 3:54. doi: hps://doi.org/ppjk [5] Whyte A, Gracia A, Bonastre C, Tejedor MT, Whyte J, Monteagudo LV, Simón C. Oral Disease and Microbiota in Free-Roaming Cats. Top Companion Anim. Med. [Internet]. 2017; 32(3):91-95. doi: hps://doi.org/gcvt6j [6] Thomas S, Lappin DF, Spears J, Benne D, Nile C, Riggio MP. Prevalence of feline calicivirus in cats with odontoclasc resorpve lesions and chronic gingivostomas. Res. Vet. Sci. [Internet]. 2017; 111:124-126. doi: hps://doi. org/f95868 [7] Bellows J, Berg ML, Dennis S, Harvey R, Lobprise HB, Snyder CJ, Stone AES, Van de Wetering AG. 2019 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. J. Am. Anim. Hosp. Assoc. [Internet]. 2019; 55(2):49-69. doi: hps:// doi.org/gg8ctd [8] Robinson NJ, Brennan ML, Cobb M, Dean RS. Invesgang prevenve-medicine consultaons in ﬁrst-opinion small- animal pracce in the United Kingdom using direct observaon. Prev. Vet. Med. [Internet]. 2016; 124:69–77. doi: hps://doi.org/f8bcsq [9] Soltero-Rivera M, Goldschmidt S, Arzi B. Feline chronic gingivostomas current concepts in clinical management. J. Feline Med. Surg. [Internet]. 2023; 25(8):1098612X231186834. doi: hps://doi.org/ppjm [10] Soltero-Rivera M, Vapniarsky N, Rivas IL, Arzi B. Clinical, radiographic and histopathologic features of early-onset gingivis and periodons in cats (1997–2022). J Feline Med. Surg. 2023; 25(1): 1098612X221148577. hps:// doi.org/ppjn [11] Sepúlveda García PA, Mieres Lastra LM, Moreno Olivares JL. Caracterización de lesiones odontocláscas reabsorvas felinas (LORF), diagnoscadas por radiograa, en gatos doméscos (Felis catus) con enfermedad periodontal [Tesis de Grado en internet]. Valdivia: Universidad Austral De Chile, 2012 [cited 16 December 2024]. 28 p. Available in: hps://goo.su/TwzzLa [12] Harvey CE. Periodontal Therapy in Cats: Whats New. Paper presented: Proc. North Am. Vet. Conf. 2003; The North American Veterinary Conference; 2003 Jan 21; Orlando–Florida, USA, 2003. p. 184–186. Available in: hps://n9.cl/h2yc0 [13] Whyte A, Lacasta S, Whyte J, Monteagudo LV, Tejedor MT. Tooth Resorpon in Spanish Domesc Cats: Preliminary Data. Top Companion Anim. Med. [Internet]. 2020; 38:100369. doi: hps://doi.org/ppjx [14] Reiter AM, Lyon KF, Nachreiner RF, Shofer FS. Evaluaon of calciotropic hormones in cats with odontoclasc resorpve lesions. Am. J. Vet. Res. [Internet]. 2005; 66:1446–1452. doi: hps://doi.org/cbnxdg [15] Ingham KE, Gorrel C, Blackburn J, Farnsworth W. Prevalence of odontoclasc resorpve lesions in a populaon of clinically healthy cats. J. Small Anim. Pract. [Internet]. 2001; 42(9):439–443. doi: hps://doi.org/ dhtqw3 [16] Peersson A, Mannerfelt T. Prevalence of dental resorpve lesions in Swedish cats. J. Vet. Dent. [Internet]. 2003; 20(3):140–142. doi: hps://doi.org/ppjz [17] Kim DH, Kwak HH, Woo HM. Prevalence of feline chronic gingivostomas in feral cats and its risk factors. J. Feline Med. Surg. [Internet]. 2023; 25(1):1098612X221131453. doi: hps://doi.org/ppj2 5 of 5