Cat Enamel — Elite Veterinary Care

Anatomy of a Cat Tooth

Your cat’s tooth are made up of a number of components, together with:

• Crown: All the portion of the tooth above the gum line

• Dentin: This comfortable, internal space is shielded by the crown and a protecting layer known as enamel

• Root: The portion of the tooth beneath the gum line that anchors the tooth in place

• Pulp: The spongy middle space of the tooth the place the blood vessels and nerves are positioned

Enjoyable Info About Cat Enamel

Felines have two units of tooth.

Cat tooth might look and performance otherwise than our personal, however they do bear some similarities. Like us, cats are born with two units of tooth: deciduous (or child) tooth and everlasting (or grownup) tooth. This is named diphyodont dentition.

Kittens are initially born with out tooth, identical to people. At about two weeks of age, their deciduous tooth start to come back in, solely to fall out once more three to 4 months later when the everlasting tooth start to interrupt by way of. 

Cats go from 26 child tooth to 30 full grownup tooth by the point they’re six months previous. That is two lower than grownup people and a whopping 12 lower than grownup canines.

Cats don’t chew their meals.

As you could have observed by peaking in your cat’s mouth, feline molars do not need horizontal or concave surfaces like ours do. These flat areas are known as occlusal tables they usually present a better floor space for animals like people and canines to chew. 

Cat tooth do not need occlusal tables as a result of there may be little or no chewing happening once they eat. As a substitute, their tooth are pointy and peg-like to assist them tear flesh into smaller bits, toss them again, and swallow them entire. As true carnivores, that is mandatory for wild felines, who might discover themselves consuming on the run.

they’ll solely transfer their jaws up and down.

One other fascinating reality about cat tooth is that the jaws through which they’re set can solely transfer up and down. Not like people, whose jaws may also transfer facet to facet to be able to grind up meals, cats don’t want this extra chewing motion.

Their tiny incisors assist throughout grooming.

Incisors are the small, blunt tooth on the entrance of the mouth between the 2 units of canines. These tooth could be positively tiny in cats, particularly kittens. And whereas they’re not superb for looking, they’re good for grooming, scratching hard-to-reach itches, and choosing up objects. 

Cats use these teeny tooth as tweezers, choosing out dandruff, unfastened hair, and (shudder) fleas. Incisors additionally come in useful for nibbling away unfastened items of shed toenail from their claws.

Cat tooth by no means want root canals.

Not chewing their meals, consuming a protein-rich weight-reduction plan, and being born with out occlusal tables on their molars means cats are resistant to cavities as we all know them. With out horizontal surfaces that accumulate bits of meals and the sugar-eating micro organism that trigger cavities, cats get to keep away from this specific dental drawback.

As much as 90% of cats over the age of 4 endure from dental illness.

Cats might not have to fret about cavities, however in line with the Cornell School of Veterinary Medication, between 50% and 90% of kitties have some type of dental illness by the age of 4. Potential issues embody:

• Gingivitis – irritation of the gums

• Stomatitis – painful irritation of the whole mouth

• Periodontal illness – an infection of the gums that damages the comfortable tissue across the tooth

• Tooth resorption – erosion of the dentin that may ultimately destroy the whole tooth

These painful circumstances could be tough for cat dad and mom to identify as a result of kitties are such stoic animals that excel at hiding their ache.