“Using innovative Minimally Invasive Periodontal Treatment (MIPT), successful regeneration of the orange tabby cat’s alveolar bone was achieved.”
Xiao-Yu (the name means “small pomelo”) is a 3 years and 8 months old mixed-breed female orange tabby cat. The owner noticed that her gingiva were swollen and there was a noticeable bad breath, so he brought her to our hospital for a comprehensive dental examination and scaling performed by Dr. Chung-Wei Chen (Dr. Richard Chen), at the same time, the treatment options were assessed.

The examination revealed that Xiao-Yu had severe periodontal disease, which resulted in inflammation of the periodontal tissues, alveolar bone loss, furcation involvement, and type 1 tooth resorption. After evaluation, we recommended the Minimally Invasive Periodontal Treatment (MIPT) developed by Dr. Chung-Wei Chen (Dr. Richard Chen) for Xiao-Yu’s treatment.

After 6 months of treatment, Xiao-Yu’s swollen gingiva subsided, and keratinized gingiva began to recover partially exposed roots, dental X-rays showed significant regeneration of the alveolar bone, improvement in furcation involvement, and effective control of tooth resorption. The owner reported that her bad breath had disappeared, and she had regained her vitality and appetite. It is now recommended to maintain tooth brushing every day and periodic scaling.

There are various approaches to periodontal treatment, but they all require thorough scaling as the foundation to achieve good results. Periodontal surgery such as guided tissue regeneration (GTR) and guided bone regeneration (GBR) have shown the best results in regenerating periodontal tissues, including alveolar bone, gingiva, and periodontal ligaments. However, there are evident limitations and drawbacks when using them in dogs and cats:

1. The thickness of gingiva in dogs and cats is generally thinner than in humans, which makes the gingival flap prone to tearing during surgery, it also hinders effective tension-free closure and formation of a good primary closure, this increases the difficulty of performing GTR and GBR procedures on dogs and cats compared to humans. Additionally, smaller cats and dogs have higher surgical complexities compared to medium and large-sized dogs.
2. Providing an adequate blood supply and to support the shape of inserted graft materials, such as bone graft and collagen, is essential in GTR and GBR surgery. Most dogs and cats with periodontal disease have severe horizontal bone loss, which compromises blood supply and support, increasing the risk of failure for GTR and GBR procedures.
3. GTR and GBR surgery involve larger wounds and require a longer recovery period. They are associated with more significant pain and a higher risk of postoperative infections.

To overcome the limitations of current periodontal treatments, Dr. Chung-Wei Chen (Dr. Richard Chen) combined scaling as the foundation and incorporated research findings from human dentistry to develop Minimally Invasive Periodontal Treatment (MIPT) for dogs and cats. This approach minimizes the size of the wounds, eliminating concerns about poor wound healing, pain, and infection postoperatively. It also demonstrates noticeable bone regeneration effects, allowing more dogs and cats with periodontal disease to receive effective treatment without the need for potent analgesic drugs.”