My 9 yr old dog and gum polyps

Question
QUESTION: Hi There,
I wondered if you can help, we have a vet appointment but I am very worried about my 9 yr old dog, she have a protruding lower jaw, I noticed that between her upper front teeth, there seemed to be a piece of gum, on further inspection it looks like a cluster of about three/four kind of tags, cysts or polyps. No pain, but the teeth are slightly mobile. No discoloration. and the cluster itself moves. Can you throw any light on it please?

ANSWER:

Hi Maria,

You didn't say what breed of dog you have. Oral cysts are particular common in small breeds of dogs. It's good you've already made an appointment with your vet, anything I can offer is going to be very general and may not pertain to your dog.

Your dog may have an tooth abscess, oral cysts, periodontal disease, skin tags which is sometimes called fibropapillomas or "polyps", or it may be something serious such as cancer. There is no way to guess at what these growths may be without a doctor's exam.

Oral cysts are benign lesions however as they expand from continuous fluid secretion, severe local destruction occurs.  Bone, periodontal tissues and teeth can be destroyed by oral cysts. Skin tags are benign growths that are not cancerous. They can be confused with some forms of cancer which is why when they occur on the lips or the mouth they require a biopsy.

It is natural to be very worried and frightened whenever you find a growth on your dog! But you're providing the "gold standard" in care when you have a doctor calling the shots. Try not to worry, all bumps do not mean cancer.

I hope I've been a help.
Best of luck,

Patti

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your prompt reply. Biscuit is a mixed breed, pretty tough too. She is a little overweight, at 18kgs, but her feed is hills science plan. She has dental chews. I worked in dentistry and have a feeling the "polyps" have disturbed some of the bone as they are situated in between the number ones... after searching on the internet I became concerned as mouth cancer is common... we will remove it and send for biopsy, the vet said he would have to cautorize in order to stop the spreading of any viral polyps, if that is what it is... is this normal procedure?
Thank you for your help
Maria

Answer

Hi Maria,

These growths can be can be surgically removed or cauterized, as viruses can spread.

In humans, anti-viral doses of interferon have been used to treat severe cases of warts and this treatment is also available for severely-infected dogs. Effective therapy for viral papillomas has been elusive though fairly recently a study found that a 10-day course of the antibiotic Azithromycin was able to remove all lesions within 15 days with no recurrences during an 8-month follow up period. This therapy is readily available in the U.S. and is likely to become treatment of choice.

Sometimes oral polyps can become infected with bacteria when they're in the mouth. Antibiotics can be needed in such cases to control the pain, swelling, and bad breath. You may want to talk with your vet about this is antibiotics weren't given.

I hope that helps!
Best of luck,
Patti