BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Dentistry and Oromaxillofacial Surgery
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1620100
Post-extraction maxillary lip entrapment in cats: a prospective study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Tierklinik Hofheim, Hofheim, Germany
- 2Clinica Veterinaria San Siro, Milan, Italy
- 3Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Objective: To investigate the prevalence, outcomes, and contributing factors of post-extraction maxillary lip entrapment (MLE) in cats, with a focus on anatomical and surgical technique-related variables.Animals: Thirty-seven client-owned cats undergoing maxillary canine tooth extraction between December 2022 and November 2024.Procedures: This prospective study included cats undergoing maxillary canine tooth extraction performed by veterinary dental surgeons across three referral clinics. Specifically, we intended to explore the association between skull conformation, mandibular canine teeth crown height, distance between the crown tips of the maxillary and mandibular canine teeth, extent of maxillary canine alveolectomy, and presence/absence of caudal teeth on this clinical entity. Post-extraction MLE was classified as mild, moderate, or severe based on clinical findings and treatment requirements.Results: Post-extraction MLE was observed in 26 cats (70.3%), with 23 of 26 cats (88.5%) being classified as having mild lesions, three (11.5%) with moderate lesions and none with severe lesions. Spontaneous improvement was noted in all mild cases. Only patients with moderate lesions required medical intervention. Cephalometric analysis, dental anatomy and impact from the surgical procedures did not reveal any statistically significant impact on the prevalence of MLE. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Post-extraction MLE in cats is a frequent but predominantly mild and self-limiting complication. Conservative management typically suffices, and advanced imaging in future studies could enhance understanding of predisposing factors and surgical strategies, leading to improved patient outcomes.
Keywords: feline dentistry, Maxillary canine tooth extraction, maxillary lip entrapment, buccal bone removal, head morphometrics
Received: 29 Apr 2025; Accepted: 30 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Marx, Gracis, Šparaš and Nemec. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Robert Marx, Tierklinik Hofheim, Hofheim, Germany
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