Cat Immune System Attacking Teeth

Stomatitis in cats is a feline dental disease.

Cat immune system attacking teeth.

It results in inflammation of the mucosal tissues of the mouth. This means that your cat will receive drugs to reduce the reaction of the immune system that is causing the disease. This makes the cat susceptible to various secondary infections. Unfortunately the immune system has a very difficult time ridding itself of deep bone infection called osteomyelitis and usually surgical intervention by a veterinarian is required.

This is called an immune response. It is closely related to gingivitis which is inflammation of the gums along the base of the teeth it shows up as red and proliferative tissue in the mouth and often in the back corners of the mouth. Although the virus is slow acting a cat s immune system is severely weakened once the disease takes hold. Autoimmune diseases are the result of an immune system that has become hyper defensive attacking the cells tissues and organs of its own body as if they are diseases that need to be destroyed.

When the body senses danger from a virus or infection the immune system kicks into gear and attacks it. In many cases the cause is assumed to be immune mediated meaning that the cat s immune system attacks its own oral tissues as an abnormal response to bacteria in the mouth. Some types of pemphigus can also affect the skin tissue of the gums. Many of these diseases share symptoms such as fatigue dizziness and low grade fever.

Periodontal disease results from the accumulation of plaque bacteria on and around the teeth which causes inflammation involving the gums and tooth support structures. Pemphigus in cats pemphigus is a general designation for a group of autoimmune skin diseases involving ulceration and crusting of the skin as well as the formation of fluid filled sacs and cysts vesicles and pus filled lesions pustules. On a basic level autoimmune disease occurs because the body s natural defenses the immune system attack the body s own healthy tissue. Researchers have several ideas about why this happens.

Tooth root abscesses most commonly affect the large premolar teeth and a cat will often present with a painful soft swelling directly under the eye. Other cats require stronger immunosuppressant medications such as chlorambucil or oral cyclosporine. According to the office of women s health approximately 23 5 million people in the united states are afflicted with at least one autoimmune disease and women are. Cats who are infected with feline immunodeficiency virus fiv may not show symptoms until years after the initial infection occurred.

Disease causing bacteria that accumulate on and below the gums produce substances that damage the cells that form a barrier between the gums and the teeth. For many cats treatment with prednisone or dexamethasone will be sufficient.