How chronic inflammation shapes aging and oral disease in dogs

Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC, discusses why owners and clinics sometimes hesitate to pursue dental treatment, and how better preventive care could expand a pet’s health span. She places periodontal disease in the broader context of chronic inflammation, or “inflammaging,” and highlights canine aging research and trials that are exploring therapies, including rapamycin, to reduce inflammation and improve healthy years in dogs. The following is a transcript of the above video.

Transcript

Heidi Lobprise, DVM, DAVDC: Sometimes clinics avoid treatment because of comorbidities and the anesthetic risk. Other times the hesitation comes from owners. They know their pet is older and they have heard stories about a relative’s dog that did poorly under anesthesia. I tell clinics to find one of those cases that actually went well and use it as a testimonial. Say, “We will do all diagnostics ahead of time, we will minimize risks, and we will use reversible anesthetic protocols when appropriate.” Then discuss how the benefits will likely outweigh the risks.

After treatment, some clients still back away when something else goes wrong, like a pet that stops eating. They assume it must be the mouth, and then we end up backtracking. What if a pet never had to go through severe disease because it had consistent, high-quality preventive care? That kind of lifetime care can expand the health span, the healthy years before disease sets in.

In human gerontology, people have been talking about chronic inflammation for a decade. It is often not a single identifiable bacteria, but a low-level, chronic inflammation driven by diet and environment. That inflammation increases morbidity and mortality and speeds up aging. Researchers look for inflammatory markers and study interventions like antioxidants, but the biology is complex.

As veterinarians we have classically focused on infection as the cause of bad breath and periodontal disease. I try to help veterinary teams understand that chronic inflammation plays a major role. Human dentistry helped us advance treatment for gingivitis and periodontitis. Now, as we study aging, the concept of “inflammaging” is gaining traction.

Dogs are now recognized as an excellent model for aging studies and therapies. Projects such as the Dog Aging Project, with researchers at institutions including Texas A&M University, have collected huge amounts of data. One initiative, TRIAD, is looking at rapamycin and its impact on aging and inflammation. Companies are also developing drugs that could affect aging. Visceral adipose tissue, the fat around the gut, is a major driver of inflammaging. That is why many people, myself included, use GLP drugs—they can reduce visceral fat and may lower chronic inflammation. We may see options for veterinarians and dogs become available even before similar therapies are common in humans.