Small Animal, Dentistry and Behaviour Conference 2019

Oral masses represent 6 % of tumours in the dog and 4% in the cat. Working at a referral dental center I see those every week. Some have already being well worked up whereas others simply arrive as "oral mass". Half of the canine masses and 90% of the feline masses are malignant, thus it becomes essential to get an early, accurate diagnosis to be able to deal with them appropriately. Several steps should be followed when working with these entities whether you are planning to refer or preparing for surgery. The first and easiest step is to radiograph the chest to ensure that there is no gross mestatasis. Next should be detailed imaging of the mass and deep, infomative biopsy of the growth. If malignancy is strongly suspected, harvesting of the lymph nodes would be included in this "first step". Finding a good reliable oral pathologist is almost of upmost importance. Once the results are back, one knows what it is, where it is, and whether or not it has spread. One can then plan for the "second step", the surgery. The mass is also sent histology to find out if the margins are clean. Depending on those results, a "third step' will include monitoring only or adjuvant therapies such as radiation and/or chemotherapy.