Saúde oral de cães e de gatos, como se comportam os tutores? Uma análise da relação entre os tutores e as práticas de higienização bucal.

Abstract

The Periodontal Disease it's an infectious and inflammatory illness caused by the accumulation of bacterial plaque, being the most affected disease in small animals, with more than 80% of adults dogs and cats affected by some alteration of the oral cavity. The daily oral brushing is the most prophylactic measure of the disease. The tutors, under the guidance of the veterinarians, are fundamental to detect and control the PD. The main goal of this research is to evaluate the knowledge of the tutors from Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte about the PD, and their behavior about the practice of the oral hygiene of dogs and cats. Through an online platform, a semi-structured survey was made with 380 respondents. A questionnaire was divided in four thematic axes in order to draw a socioeconomic profile of the tutors, quantify the knowledge of them about the disease and evaluate how the oral brushing of the animals are being made. Based on the collected responses a descriptive study was made with qualitative and quantitative analyzes of a not probabilistic sample. It was notice that 60,8% of the interviwers did not know what PD was and, although 81% (311/380) of its participants took their animals for veterinary consultation, only 37,3% (116/311) had guidance about the oral health of pets. Only 25,3% (96/380) of the tutors often observe the mouth of their animals, however, 55,0% (209/380) reported bad breath in their pets. Only 28,4% (108/380) of the tutors performed the oral hygiene of their animals, in wich 3,7% (4/107) brushed the teeth of their animals daily. The reason of the lack of oral brushing in the animals was: lack of cooperation from the animals (50,0% 136/272), unfamiliarity (36,8%; 100/272) and lack of time. The periodontal treatment was performed only by 11,6% (44/380) of the tutors, however, 1,3% (5/380) related that this procedure was made by a non veterinary professional. Moreover, of the tutors that took their pets to a veterinary clinic only 37,3% (116/311) related that they had guidance about the oral health of the animals. That way, we can conclude that most of the tutors don't have the appropriate knowledge about the periodontal disease, don't perform the oral brushing of the animals and, when they do the frequency is inadequate. The alleged reasons for the lack of hygiene of pets' teeth are lack of cooperation from animals, lack of knowledge and lack of time. At the same time, there was little participation by veterinarians in guiding tutors on their pets' oral health. It is necessary the commitment of veterinarians to disseminate knowledge about oral diseases in dogs and cats, in their clinical practice, especially in pediatric consultations.