Preface

If we notice a sudden decrease in water and food intake in dogs, as well as difficulties in feeding, chewing, swallowing, or swallowing, or if there is painful swelling in the lower jaw lymph nodes, we should perform corresponding examinations on the dog's mouth, throat, and esophagus, as it is likely that these areas have problems, leading to the occurrence of these conditions.

1、 Oral examination

Oral examination of dogs should be performed manually or with the help of specialized mouthparts according to clinical needs.

Hand to hand opening method: During the examination, hold the dog's mouth corners on both sides with your left hand and apply pressure, while pulling down the chin with your right hand to open the mouth.

Opener opening: First, find someone to hold the dog's two ears tightly, secure the dog's head, and the examiner will insert the opener straight into the mouth. When the front end of the opener reaches the corner of the mouth, press down firmly on the handle to open the mouth for examination or treatment.

The main examination items for oral health include drooling, odor, temperature, humidity, color, and integrity of the lips and mucous membranes, as well as changes in the tongue and teeth. Generally, methods such as visual examination, palpation, and olfactory examination are used.

1. Salivation: The discharge or saliva from a dog's mouth that flows out of the mouth is called drooling. A healthy dog's mouth is slightly moist and there is no drooling. Excessive salivation is the result of various stimuli causing an increase in oral secretions, and can be seen in various types of stomatitis, swallowing or swallowing disorders (such as pharyngitis or esophageal obstruction), poisoning (such as salt poisoning and organophosphate poisoning), and nutritional disorders (such as scurvy).

2. Oral odor: Healthy dogs generally do not have any special odor in their mouths. If they consume food that humans eat for a long time, it may make their mouths smell worse. If bad breath occurs under pathological conditions, it is commonly seen in conditions such as stomatitis, enteritis, and intestinal obstruction. The smell of decay is common in conditions such as alveolar inflammation, necrotizing stomatitis, and so on.

3. Lips:

① Lip sagging: Sometimes the lips cannot be closed, which can be seen in facial nerve paralysis, poisoning, rabies, and so on.

② Lip swelling: seen in deep inflammation of the oral mucosa.

③ Lips tightly closed: This is caused by increased lip tension and is commonly seen in diseases such as meningitis or tetanus.