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What are the long-term effects of advanced gum disease on my dog?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Pug | Male | neutered | 11 years and 2 months old | 20 lbs

How long can a dog survive with an advanced periodontal disease?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Davis

Veterinarian

Published on August 4th, 2017

That is a good question. Some dogs have pain and infection but lose the infected teeth and then the mouth heals. Others have pain and the infection can spread to the heart valves, liver and other organs and they can get ill and sometimes die from the complications. With improvements in anesthesia safety it would be best the have a blood panel done and an EKG to make sure the heart is ok, then have the teeth cleaned and any loose ones extracted. If a dental isn't done another treatment is called pulsed antibiotics. With this you give 5-7 days of antibiotics monthly. This keeps the infection under control so the side effects of periodontal disease are checked. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Cocoa.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Rebecca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Periodontal disease itself may not be life threatening but it can be a source of chronic pain and infection. There is no set timeline for survival with oral disease but the worse it is the more likely a dog is in pain or can develop system infections or complications from infection such as endocarditis or kidney disease. Some dogs develop oral abscesses or fistula (draining tract) from infection. If unable to do a full dental treatment under anesthesia discuss antibiotic therapy and pain management with your veterinarian.

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