Conference misery::feline_v1

248.0. "The cat who needed braces" by TLE::SAVAGE (Neil, @Spit Brook) Sat May 10 1986 19:47

Associated Press Sat 10-MAY-1986 17:58                           

           Cat More Cooperative Than Some Patients In Dentist Chair
    
                                By PAT LEISNER
                           Associated Press Writer
    
    LUTZ, Fla. (AP) - When Todd Falkner went to the dentist to be checked
    for braces, his brother Kevin was there, getting his braces off. So was
    Boo, a cat. The cat "turned out to be more cooperative than some
    patients," said dentist Ralph DeDomenico. 
    
    Boo was DeDomenico's first feline patient in 12 years of practice and
    1,500 sets of braces. "I thought it was pretty neat. I was getting
    worked on and so was this little black cat," said Kevin, 14, who was
    sitting two chairs down. 
    
    "I thought it was incredible that they could move teeth in a tiny thing
    like that. I told some of my friends at school, but they didn't believe
    me," the eighth-grader said. Kevin's teeth were being straightened for
    looks. 
    
    With Boo, a 7-month-old Persian, the reason was different. The cat
    couldn't chew. A long, pointed canine tooth was slanted, growing inward
    hitting the tongue and rubbing a hole in the floor of the mouth.
    "Something had to be done. It was either extract or get it directed the
    right way," said veterinarian Mary Leisner. "It was causing damage to
    the mouth." 
    
    Because Boo is only a kitten and a major tooth was involved, Ms.
    Leisner decided to try to save it. "So I called the dentist," she said.
    Brenda Lassiter owns Boo and a couple other cats. 
    
    "I couldn't believe it when my veterinarian said to me: `What would you
    think if I told you your cat needed braces?' " Ms. Lassiter said.
    "After I got over the shock, I said OK." 
    
    In February, DeDomenico and Ms. Leisner teamed up for the first time.
    They anesthetized the animal and took X-rays to make sure there were no
    complications. Then the dentist went to work, adapting the wires and
    spreading the glue he normally uses on children. "The problem was these
    little bitty teeth," DeDomenico said. 
    
    He took his regular materials, made an arch bar and bonded it to the
    teeth with adhesive. The cat came back for adjustments. Total cost for
    vet and dentist visits and braces was $150, according to Ms. Lassiter. 
    
    "It never hissed or clawed at me," said DeDomenico, who grew up on Long
    Island, N.Y., went to school at the University of Louisville and moved
    to Florida nine years ago. 
    
    When the Falkner brothers walked into the dentist's office last week
    and saw Boo in one of the chairs, "it took us a while to figure out
    what was going on," said Todd, 12. "I just kept watching. I couldn't
    believe it," said the sixth-grader who gets his braces in two months. 
    
    "The tooth is functional now and the cat should feel much better," Ms.
    Leisner said. "I'm sure he does," added Ms. Lassiter. "He doesn't stop
    eating."