Feline Dental Implants: Long-Term Follow-up of Two Cases.

Dental implants have become an option for replacement of lost canine teeth in cats. Although cats appear to manage well after a canine extraction, complications such as lip entrapment can occur after maxillary canine tooth extraction. Even cats with a complicated crown fracture of the maxillary canine tooth that have had root canal therapy can develop lip entrapment. This can lead to painful lip ulcers and potential need for further dental treatment. Canine tooth replacement with a dental implant and prosthodontic crown is, in the authors' experience, a predictable option that can be offered to clients who would like to replace a lost canine tooth. This report will discuss 2 long-term cases of maxillary canines replaced by dental implants/crowns.

Dental Implants and Incisor Bridge Placement in a Dog.

Veterinary dentistry has tended to follow the trends and advancements in the human dental field. As for any procedure performed on a patient, whether human or animal, an informed decision is based on the available evidence regarding treatment options. This is certainly true for the more involved treatments in veterinary dentistry which can include the disciplines of endodontics and dental implantology. A number of published case reports have been accepted by the specialty that endodontic therapy is indeed a predictable and a valuable service that can be offered to pet owners. Oral implantology has become an accepted and predictable procedure in the human dental field and can now be offered to pet owners if performed by suitable trained veterinary clinicians. The success rate for endosseous implant osseointegration is very high in humans. Success rates are also very high in animals used for implantology research. Canine studies have shown good bone-to-implant contact of around 73% in osseointegrated endosseous implants based on histological sections. Radiographic and histological findings demonstrate stable alveolar crestal bone levels after loading endosseous implants for up to 12 months in a dog model. This article discusses use of dental implants in the rostral mandible of a companion dog to replace periodontally diseased incisors, their restoration, to return the animal to full dental function and 3-year follow-up.