Feline Gingivitis Stomatitis Complex – what we know (and don’t know)?

There are few pathological processes affecting the oral cavity of cats that can be as devastating to the individual as FGSC can. At its worst we can see debilitated patients with halitosis, ptyalism and hyporexia. These patients express intense pain often with profound reluctance to tolerate oral examinations. Cure is not guaranteed and prognosis is guarded, therapeutics can be highly emotive and are likely to be long term . These factors can make communication with owners of cats affected about the disease challenging.

During the early years that FGCS has been recognised as a distinct disease process a clear definition of the disease was not always adhered to, this lead to confusion between similar (and potentially linked) diseases, such as Juvenile Gingivitis and acute onset periodontitis. These pathologies have a more favourable prognosis and erroneous inclusion will affect statistics we rely on to assess efficacy of individual treatments. 

The aetiology of FGSC is still not fully understood, although our knowledge has significantly expanded in recent years. This increasing knowledge has offered a number of potential therapeutic interventions, often augmented by clinical desperation. The result is a plethora of opinions and medications increasing the complexity for the clinician to navigate to support their patients.

This lecture is intended to review evidenced based literature to offer (hopefully) clarity on diagnosis and management of this debilitating condition and a clinicians approach to communication.