Bryce A J, Milne M E, Tyrrell D, Bodley K
Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Melbourne Veterinary School, Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Melbourne Zoo, Veterinary, Zoos Victoria, Melbourne, Australia.
Aust Vet J. 2022 Jun;100(6):277-282. doi: 10.1111/avj.13158. Epub 2022 Mar 25.
Dental disease is common in wild and captive koalas. Effective treatments are limited and dental disease may not be recognised until it is quite severe. We describe the appearance of varying severities of dental disease on computed tomography (CT) images in a case series of six koalas. This case series demonstrates the use of CT to detect both mild and severe dental disease in koalas. The study also documents the normal CT appearance of the nasolacrimal duct in the koala. The only clinical abnormality in koalas with the mildest dental disease was ocular discharge. Computed tomography findings associated with ocular discharge were periapical lysis of first maxillary incisors, lacrimal canal remodelling and subsequent nasolacrimal duct obstruction. Dental disease should be a differential diagnosis for ocular discharge in koalas and CT examination enables visualisation of early stages of dental disease.
牙科疾病在野生和圈养的树袋熊中很常见。有效的治疗方法有限，而且牙科疾病在病情相当严重之前可能都不会被发现。我们在一个包含六只树袋熊的病例系列中，描述了计算机断层扫描（CT）图像上不同严重程度牙科疾病的表现。这个病例系列展示了使用CT来检测树袋熊的轻度和重度牙科疾病。该研究还记录了树袋熊鼻泪管的正常CT表现。患有最轻微牙科疾病的树袋熊唯一的临床异常是眼部分泌物。与眼部分泌物相关的CT表现为上颌第一切牙根尖溶解、泪管重塑以及随后的鼻泪管阻塞。牙科疾病应作为树袋熊眼部分泌物的鉴别诊断，CT检查能够可视化牙科疾病的早期阶段。
