Recognizing Periodontal Disease in your Glider

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Periodontal disease DOES affect Sugar Gliders. Though it is not (yet) a part of our routine care for sugar gliders to do dental care, it SHOULD be a regular part of the care you provide to inspect your glider’s teeth and gums a minimum of ONCE MONTHLY.

Possible signs of periodontal disease include:

* Facial swelling
* Change in behavior accompanied by change in eating habits
* Unwillingness to eat harder foods - reliance on pureed foods
* Weight loss with no other explanation
* Difficulty chewing
* Decreased activity level
* Gums that are red or bleeding
* Tartar on teeth
* Loose or missing teeth

Please NOTE that many of these symptoms can indicate OTHER health issues. Therefore, it is essential that you have a VET examine your glider for periodontal health during wellness checks.

Steps to Better Dental Health

* Ask your veterinarian to check your glider’s teeth at EACH visit.
* Feed a diet which includes a wide variety of textures and hardness
* Provide regular items for chewing/stripping that will allow the glider to use his/her teeth as they were intended (branches, meal worms, eucalyptus branches & leaves)
* Inspect your glider’s teeth at least once monthly and see a vet if there are concerns.

If your glider is diagnosed with periodontal disease:

* You can do daily/weekly dental care with chlorhexidine rinse and use of a tiny toothbrush.
* Follow your vet’s instructions for use of antibiotics and/or changes in diet closely.
* Do not neglect follow up visits with the vet.

Another consideration is that periodontal disease can be communicable. The worse the disease, the more bacteria and the higher the chance of it being shared between cagemates. Teeth should be checked at wellness exams, and if you have a glider with periodontal disease, be sure to keep re-evaluate all cagemates more often for signs of it.

It is interesting that you bring this up, Kate.

My Cheddar suffers with really terrible periodontal disease. Thankfully, he is very easy to treat and I have learned to keep most of it from flaring up with the use of teeth brushing, vitamin C and alternating soft and hard foods. BUT, he has terrible plaque build up on all of his remaining teeth, and will have 2-3 abscesses per year.

Anyway, I just this past Friday took he and his cage mate in to the vet. His cage mate, Venus, had to have 4 teeth pulled and an abscess drained on her face. It sure would be a huge coincidence if Venus just happened to have issues independent of Cheddar's, wouldn't it?