Why do pets experience dental pain?
According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, over 80% of dogs have signs of dental disease by the time they reach 3 years of age. While you may think of dental disease as being primarily a cosmetic issue, the truth is that dental disease can also be painful for pets. Inflammation of the gums (gingivitis) can be uncomfortable on its own, while some pets may have more serious issues such as fractured teeth, tooth root abscesses, and oral tumors.
Look For Subtle Signs of Pet Dental Pain
However, dogs often give off subtle signals that something is wrong. And in the case of tooth pain, this is very likely to be the case. Green Dog Dental has some helpful tips so you can have a better chance of understanding what the issue might be. Dont forget, preventative care with dental cleaning solutions like smileSPRAY is your best option.
The History of Pain in Dogs:
Previously, humans believed that dogs couldn’t understand or interpret pain on the same level as us, and then pain medications weren’t necessary. However, it’s been proven that dogs are able to experience and feel pain. Today, veterinarians are well aware that dogs do indeed experience pain even if they aren’t able to communicate in the same way that humans are able to.
Similar to humans, pain in dogs is an emotional response. The dog’s body sends a message to the brain through the nervous system. Their brain interprets this and creates the emotional experience of pain. The purpose of this message is to protect the dog from the present threat and avoid it in the future. The veterinary field has reported that it can be more difficult to detect pain in some animals compared to others.
Do dogs experience emotions like humans?
Believe it or not, dogs feel pain to a similar extent that humans do. In fact, dogs can handle similar intensities of all types of pain to humans. For example, stomach-related pain and tooth-related pain in a dog are perceived much the same way that we would perceive this type of pain. The canine nervous system functions just like that of people. Just like for people, pain is a part of life for our dogs as well, unfortunately.
There are a number of signs that point to your dog experiencing pain. However, oftentimes, dogs do not understand how to communicate the pain they’re experiencing to their owner. A few indicators of pain to keep an eye out for include: