is my cat's halitosis caused by her broken tooth?

Posted on February 14th, 2011

My 1 year old cat has a BAAAD case of halitosis. She’s already had general lab work done and she seems healthy, but the vet noticed a broken front tooth (incisor) where the root is exposed, and she said it needs to be extracted/removed and her teeth cleaned due to the exposed root. my question is, could this broken tooth be causing the bad breath? I know cat’s breath has a particular odor, but her mouth is really foul, it smells a foot away, and it’s got an old garbage can smell to it- not the usual kitty breath. Not sure how she broke the tooth, but if anyone here thinks it will help her breath I will go ahead and do the surgery. (She doesn’t seem in any discomfort, she still eats normally and behaves very lovingly, she isn’t guarding her mouth or anything, so I don’t think it hurts at all. So i only want to put her through oral surgery if it will clear up her bad breath or prevent any sort of infection in the future from the exposed root. what do you guys think?

Technorati Tags: bad breath, broken tooth, front tooth, garbage, incisor, kitty, oral surgery, teeth, vet

Tags: bad breath, broken tooth, front tooth, garbage, incisor, kitty, oral surgery, teeth, vet
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4 Responses to “is my cat's halitosis caused by her broken tooth?”

1. mommy49 Says:
   February 14th, 2011 at 4:38 am

   please get it taken care of! animals don’t show pain like we do!

2. jana Says:
   February 14th, 2011 at 4:38 am

   jeeez you make me mad.

   really.

   you ask whether her bad breath is caused by this and if it is, then you’ll have the surgery done.

   this shouldn’t be a factor!

   the fact that her root is exposed and it is bloody painful should propel you to have surgery done IMMEDIATELY!

   how would you feel if you had to walk around like this?
   have you no shame?
   she can’t SPEAK. she can’t make an appointment for surgery herself!

   poor kitty.

3. Eagles Fly Says:
   February 14th, 2011 at 4:38 am

   Bad breath usually comes from needed dental care. Could need a good cleaning or it could be the broken tooth. If she has an exposed root I can’t believe she isn’t having any discomfort. An exposed root can be very painful. She could be lucky and doesn’t have a whole lot of pain. It’s something that should definitely be taken care of. Will probably clear up the bad breath as well.

4. j Says:
   February 14th, 2011 at 4:38 am

   It definitely could be the cause of the bad breath. Broken teeth, especially with an exposed, are prone to infections (not to mention extremely painful!!). Dental surgery is a must!

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