In addition these cats usually have concurrent resorptive lesions contributing to the oral pain. While many drugs have been used to attempt control of the problem the current recommendation is to extract all the premolars and molars. If cats allowed meticulous oral hygiene at home, such drastic measures would not be necessary. Unfortunately the mouths become very painful and the cats will simply not allow toothbrushing to occur. Rather than using long term drug therapy that usually results in failure, extractions are most always curative.
Oral cancers are a huge problem in cats over ten years of age.
Unfortunately most oral cancers go undetected until the problem is hopeless. The best recommendation is to have the cat examined by the owners every three months for any suspicious looking areas. These include lumps, loose teeth, bleeding areas or any place that appears deformed. The most common oral cancer in cats is squamous cell carcinoma. Because this cancer is slow to spread to other organs, the oral surgeon has a good chance of curing the cat if the cancer is found in time.