Gum Disease in Pets and People: What They Share
Oral health impacts the heart, liver, and kidneys in both humans and pets. Discover the clinical links between periodontal disease and systemic wellness.
Gum disease is common in adult dogs, cats and people, and it works much the same way in each: plaque bacteria below the gumline cause inflammation that destroys the tissue and bone holding the teeth. In both dogs and people, more severe gum disease has been linked with heart problems, including endocarditis, although that link has not been shown to be cause and effect. Brushing at home and professional care below the gumline matter for every member of the family.
How does gum disease develop?
Plaque, a sticky film of bacteria, builds up on the teeth every day. Left alone, it hardens into tartar. The visible tartar above the gumline is not the main problem. The damage happens below the gumline, where bacteria and the body's inflammatory response break down the gum attachment and bone. This is true in dogs, cats and people.
Because inflamed gums bleed easily, bacteria from the mouth can enter the bloodstream briefly. That is one reason researchers in both human and veterinary medicine have studied whether gum disease affects the heart.
What is endocarditis, and is it linked to gum disease?
Endocarditis is inflammation of the inner lining of the heart's chambers and valves, called the endocardium. [1] Infective endocarditis happens when bacteria settle there, often on a damaged or artificial valve.
In people, mouth bacteria are a known cause of some cases of infective endocarditis. The American Heart Association recommends preventive antibiotics before certain dental procedures only for people at the highest risk, such as those with artificial heart valves or a past episode of endocarditis, and it stresses that good daily oral health and regular dental care matter for everyone. [2]
In dogs, a study of nearly 60,000 dogs with gum disease and a matched group without it found that more severe gum disease was linked with a higher risk of later heart conditions, including endocarditis. The authors noted the study was observational. [3]
Why do pets need anesthesia for a dental cleaning?
A thorough cleaning has to reach below the gumline, and dogs and cats won't hold still for that. Veterinary dental guidelines therefore include recommendations for general anesthesia during professional cleanings. [4] People can usually have the same work done awake, with local anesthetic when needed.
What signs of mouth trouble should you watch for?
In pets:
Bad breath
Red gums or heavy tartar
Chewing on one side, dropping food or reluctance to eat
Pawing at the mouth or swelling of the face
In people:
Gums that bleed when you brush
Red, swollen or receding gums
Persistent bad breath
Loose teeth or a change in your bite
For your pet, ask your veterinarian. For yourself, see a dentist.
Where can you get your own gums checked in Jacksonville?
Our office cares for people, not pets. A comprehensive dental exam includes a full gum evaluation. For more on how gum health connects to the rest of the body, see can gum disease affect your overall health? To schedule, contact us or call 904-398-1549.
Sources
MedlinePlus (US National Library of Medicine). Endocarditis. Retrieved October 6, 2026.
Wilson WR, Gewitz M, Lockhart PB, et al. Prevention of viridans group streptococcal infective endocarditis: a scientific statement from the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2021;143(20):e963-e978. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000000969 (retrieved via PubMed)
Glickman LT, Glickman NW, Moore GE, Goldstein GS, Lewis HB. Evaluation of the risk of endocarditis and other cardiovascular events on the basis of the severity of periodontal disease in dogs. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2009;234(4):486-494. doi:10.2460/javma.234.4.486 (retrieved via PubMed)
Bellows J, Berg ML, Dennis S, et al. 2019 AAHA dental care guidelines for dogs and cats. J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2019;55(2):49-69. doi:10.5326/JAAHA-MS-6933 (retrieved via PubMed)
About the author. CJ Henley, DMD, is a general dentist in Jacksonville whose practice focuses on cosmetic and restorative dentistry, dental implants and dental care around head and neck cancer. Meet Dr. Henley.
CJ Henley, DMD, PA · 3675 Hendricks Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32207 · 904-398-1549
Updated October 2026.
Can Baby Teeth Show Early-Life Stress?
The thickness of growth marks in primary (or 'baby') teeth may help identify children at risk for depression and other mental health disorders later in life, according to a ground-breaking investigation.
Possibly, according to early research. A 2021 study found that a growth line formed in baby teeth around birth, called the neonatal line, was wider in children whose mothers had a history of depression or had depression or anxiety late in pregnancy, and narrower when mothers had strong social support after birth. The study was small and needs to be repeated. It isn't a test you can ask a dentist for, and it can't tell you anything about your own child.
What is the neonatal line?
Teeth form in layers, a little like tree rings. Enamel for the baby teeth starts forming before birth, and the stress of birth leaves a visible line in it, called the neonatal line. Anthropologists have long studied growth lines in teeth to learn about illness and poor nutrition in past populations. The researchers wanted to know whether the width of this line also reflects a mother's psychological stress around the time of birth.
What did the study do?
A team at Massachusetts General Hospital, led by psychiatric epidemiologist Erin Dunn, studied 70 baby canine teeth donated by families in the Children of the 90s study (the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) in Bristol, England. The teeth had fallen out naturally when the children were 5 to 7 years old. The team measured the width of each neonatal line under a microscope.
Mothers had filled in questionnaires during and shortly after pregnancy about stressful life events, their mental health history, their neighborhood and how much social support they had.
What did they find?
Neonatal lines were wider in children whose mothers reported severe depression or other psychiatric problems at some point in their lives.
Lines were also wider when mothers had high levels of depression or anxiety at 32 weeks of pregnancy.
Lines were narrower when mothers reported strong social support shortly after birth.
These links held after accounting for other things known to affect the line, such as length of pregnancy and maternal weight.
What are the study's limits?
Seventy children is a small group, and nearly all were White and from one region of England. The study shows that certain experiences and a wider line tend to occur together. It doesn't show what causes the line to widen, and it didn't measure the children's own mental health. The researchers called for larger studies to confirm the findings before teeth could be considered a possible marker of early stress.
What does this mean for parents?
For now, nothing changes in how baby teeth are cared for, and there's no reason to have a child's teeth examined for growth lines. The more useful takeaway is the role of support. Mothers who had strong social support after birth had children with narrower lines, which fits a broad body of research on how much support matters for parents and babies.
If you're pregnant or a new parent and feel depressed or anxious, tell your doctor. For everyday care of young children's teeth, see our parent's guide to early childhood dental problems. Related research summaries cover childhood stress and early molars and parents' wellbeing and toddler toothbrushing.
Sources
Mountain RV, Zhu Y, Pickett OR, et al. Association of maternal stress and social support during pregnancy with growth marks in children's primary tooth enamel. JAMA Netw Open. 2021;4(11):e2129129. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.29129. Retrieved via PubMed (PMID 34751761).
Massachusetts General Hospital. Baby teeth may one day help identify kids at risk for mental disorders later in life. Press release, November 2021.
About the author. CJ Henley, DMD, is a general dentist in Jacksonville whose practice focuses on cosmetic and restorative dentistry, dental implants and dental care around head and neck cancer. Meet Dr. Henley.
CJ Henley, DMD, PA · 3675 Hendricks Avenue, Jacksonville, FL 32207 · 904-398-1549
Updated October 2026.