Prevalence and types of tooth resorption in dogs with oral tumors
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Published on: August 15, 2025
Ana Nemec1, Boaz Arzi, Brian Murphy
1William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California-Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
Objective:
To determine the prevalence and types of tooth resorption in dogs with oral tumors and to compare findings with those for control dogs.
Animals:
101 dogs with oral tumors and 128 control dogs that did not have oral tumors and for which dental radiographs were available.
Procedures:
Exclusion criteria for dogs included systemic disease, long-term administration of anti-inflammatory drugs, traumatic occlusion, severe semigeneralized or generalized periodontitis, and endodontic disease. For each dog with an oral tumor, histologic sections of biopsy specimens of tumors were examined. Dental radiographic images of dogs were examined, and the presence and type of tooth resorption were determined for each tooth. Statistical analyses were performed to compare data regarding prevalence of tooth resorption.
Results:
Teeth at tumor sites in dogs with nonodontogenic tumors were significantly more frequently affected with external inflammatory resorption, compared with teeth at tumor sites in dogs with odontogenic tumors. Teeth at sites distant from tumors in dogs with oral tumors were 3.2 times as likely to have external surface resorption (OR, 3.2; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 7.9) and 83.4 times as likely to have external inflammatory resorption (OR, 83.4; 95% confidence interval, 9.7 to 719.6) as teeth in control dogs.
Conclusions And Clinical Relevance:
Resorption of teeth at tumor sites and at sites distant from tumors was common in dogs with oral tumors. Results of the present study will contribute to an understanding of the complex effects of oral tumors on local and distant hard tissues.
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