title: Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Pathology of the California Mountain Lion (Puma concolor couguar).
abstract: Skulls from 91 California mountain lions (Puma concolor couguar) were examined macroscopically and radiographically. The majority of the skulls were from young adult animals (57.1%). The skull specimens were from 42 male (46.1%) and 34 female (37.4%) animals, while the gender was unknown for the remainder. The majority (94.5%) of teeth were present for examination. Only 11 teeth were identified as absent congenitally; five of these teeth were maxillary first molar teeth and three were maxillary second premolar teeth. Abnormal tooth morphology was identified in 3.5% of teeth. The most common abnormality in tooth form was abnormally large crowns of the maxillary first molar teeth. Teeth with an abnormal number of roots were uncommon (n = 21). Ninety-one teeth were found to have an abnormal number of roots, most often two-rooted maxillary first molar teeth instead of the expected one root. The most prevalent dental lesions found in the California mountain lion were attrition/abrasion (93.4%), tooth fractures (80.2%) and periodontitis (38.5%). Less common dental lesions were tooth resorption (n = 32 teeth) and endodontal disease (n = 29 teeth).
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, USA.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aghashani
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, USA.
authors.forename: A S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, USA.
authors.forename: P H
authors.initials: PH
authors.lastname: Kass
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences, USA. Electronic address: fjverstraete@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: F J M
authors.initials: FJM
authors.lastname: Verstraete
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D046011:Puma; D009057:Stomatognathic Diseases / Q000662:veterinary*; D013704:Temporomandibular Joint / Q000473:pathology; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: California mountain lion; Puma concolor couguar; dental pathology; temporomandibular joint