Dental Disease in Alpacas

The Quiet Problem Hidden Behind “He Is Still Eating”

Dental disease is a natural continuation of The Quiet Emergency: Recognizing Illness in Stoic Alpacas.

An alpaca with dental pain may continue walking to the hay feeder, lower its head and take food into its mouth. From a distance, the animal appears to be eating. A closer look may reveal that it is chewing slowly, dropping hay, packing food in one cheek or consuming much less than the rest of the herd.

The fleece may conceal the resulting weight loss. By the time the alpaca’s face becomes swollen or its body appears thin, the dental problem may already be advanced.

Approaching food is not the same as eating it.
Eating is not the same as chewing effectively.
Chewing is not the same as consuming enough nutrition.

Understanding the Alpaca’s Mouth

Alpaca teeth are designed to grasp low-growing vegetation and grind fibrous forage.

Incisors and Dental Pad

Alpacas do not have upper front incisors. Their lower incisors meet a firm upper dental pad.

The lower incisors help the alpaca grasp and cut forage. Ideally, the incisors meet the front edge of the dental pad appropriately.

Problems develop when the incisors:

• Extend beyond the dental pad
• Grow at abnormal angles
• Become uneven
• Fracture
• Loosen
• Wear irregularly
• Fail to meet the dental pad
• Become crowded because of jaw conformation

Cheek Teeth

The premolars and molars are located farther back in the mouth and perform most of the grinding.

Cheek-tooth problems can include:

• Uneven wear
• Sharp enamel points
• Overgrowth
• Steps or waves in the grinding surface
• Food trapped between teeth
• Periodontal disease
• Fractured teeth
• Tooth-root infection
• Abscess formation
• Infection of the surrounding jawbone

These teeth cannot be evaluated adequately by looking only at the front of the mouth.

Fighting Teeth

Fighting teeth are sharp, canine-like teeth most commonly associated with males, although females may occasionally develop them.

They can cause significant injuries during fighting and may injure:

• Other alpacas
• Handlers
• The alpaca’s own lips or tongue

Fighting teeth should be evaluated by someone experienced with camelid dental anatomy. They should not be confused with normal incisors or cheek teeth.

Why Dental Disease Can Be Missed

Alpacas may adapt their eating behavior gradually.

An affected animal may:

• Chew primarily on one side
• Select softer hay
• Avoid coarse stems
• Take longer to finish
• Wait for spilled grain
• Swallow incompletely chewed material
• Pack feed inside the cheek
• Eat only when competition is low
• Appear interested in food despite consuming very little

Dominant animals may remain at the feeder and disguise their difficulty. Subordinate alpacas may be displaced before anyone notices they were already eating slowly.

A monthly examination provides an opportunity to compare weight, body condition, jaw symmetry and eating behavior before the problem becomes obvious.

Quiet Signs of Dental Pain

Watch for:

• Slower chewing
• Unusual or exaggerated jaw movement
• Chewing primarily on one side
• Dropping partially chewed food
• Long pieces of hay falling from the mouth
• Feed packed inside the cheek
• Increased salivation
• Wet or stained fiber beneath the mouth
• Bad breath
• Teeth grinding
• Facial tension
• Resistance to having the head touched
• Reduced cud chewing
• Coughing or gagging while eating
• Repeated neck stretching
• Nasal discharge
• Facial or jaw swelling
• A draining tract along the jaw
• Gradual weight loss
• Loss of muscle beside the spine
• Reduced manure production
• Repeated episodes of choke

Some affected alpacas continue to eat normally despite a visible tooth-root swelling. Therefore, appetite alone cannot rule out dental disease.

Tooth-Root Abscesses

Tooth-root abscesses are among the most important dental problems affecting alpacas and llamas.

An abscess develops when bacteria infect the tissues surrounding the tooth root. Infection may extend into the jawbone, producing osteomyelitis.

What Owners May Notice

• A firm swelling along the lower jaw
• Facial asymmetry
• Pain when the jaw is touched
• Soft tissue swelling
• A draining tract
• Pus or persistent moisture
• Feed packed inside the cheek
• Reduced chewing
• Weight loss
• Nasal discharge when an upper tooth is involved
• Recurrent swelling after antibiotic treatment

Lower-jaw abscesses may be easier to find during palpation. Upper tooth-root disease can be harder to recognize because the swelling may be hidden by facial structures and fleece.

Why Younger Adults Can Be Affected

Tooth-root abscesses are frequently recognized when permanent cheek teeth are erupting. During eruption, the surrounding tissues may be more vulnerable to injury from coarse or stemmy forage, allowing bacteria to enter.

Dental disease is not limited to elderly alpacas.

Diagnosis

Veterinary evaluation may include:

• Sedated oral examination
• A full-mouth speculum
• Dental probing
• Skull radiographs
• Ultrasound
• Culture of infected material
• Computed tomography in complicated cases
• Evaluation for bone infection
• Assessment of nutritional and body condition

A visible swelling does not identify which tooth is responsible. Imaging helps determine the affected tooth, the extent of infection and whether the jawbone is involved.

Treatment Considerations

Treatment depends upon the tooth involved and the extent of the disease. Options may include veterinary-directed antimicrobial treatment, extraction, apicoectomy or management of infected bone.

A study involving 123 llamas and alpacas with tooth-root abscesses found that extraction was the most common surgical treatment. Reported long-term complications included reinfection, chronic draining tracts and osteomyelitis. Animals in thin body condition at surgery had poorer outcomes than animals in good or obese condition. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

This reinforces the importance of finding dental disease before the alpaca becomes debilitated.

Antibiotics may temporarily reduce swelling without eliminating an infected tooth or diseased bone. Recurring swelling requires additional investigation.

Incisor Problems

Overgrown Incisors

Lower incisors that extend beyond the dental pad may interfere with efficient grazing and food acquisition.

Possible causes include:

• Jaw conformation
• Malocclusion
• Uneven tooth wear
• Abnormal tooth angle
• Insufficient natural wear
• Injury
• Congenital abnormalities

Undershot and Overshot Jaws

Jaw-length discrepancies can prevent the incisors from meeting the dental pad correctly.

This can lead to:

• Abnormal incisor wear
• Difficulty grasping forage
• Progressive overgrowth
• Uneven pressure on other teeth
• Reduced grazing efficiency

The degree of malocclusion matters. A mild conformational difference may be manageable, while severe malocclusion can significantly affect welfare, nutrition and breeding decisions.

Incisor Trimming

Incisor trimming should restore function without damaging the living structures within the tooth.

Improper cutting or grinding can cause:

• Excessive heat
• Tooth fracture
• Pulp exposure
• Pain
• Bleeding
• Infection
• Long-term tooth damage

The appropriate cutting line should be based on the dental pad, tooth angle, jaw conformation and individual anatomy—not simply on making all the incisors look even.

Cheek-Tooth Problems

Signs of cheek-tooth disease may be subtle because the affected teeth are difficult to see.

Possible conditions include:

• Sharp enamel points
• Uneven grinding surfaces
• Overgrown individual teeth
• Missing opposing teeth
• Fractures
• Tooth decay
• Periodontal pockets
• Food impaction
• Root infection
• Jawbone infection

A missing or damaged tooth can allow the opposing tooth to overgrow because it no longer receives normal wear.

Routine Floating Is Not Automatically Required

Alpacas should not be placed on an automatic dental-floating schedule simply because routine floating is common in horses.

Dental correction should be based upon:

• A proper examination
• Abnormal wear
• Clinical signs
• Age
• Jaw conformation
• Weight or body-condition changes
• Chewing difficulty
• Findings identified with appropriate equipment

Unnecessary or overly aggressive reduction can damage teeth and alter normal chewing surfaces.

Dental Disease and Choke

Poor chewing can increase the size of food particles being swallowed. Dental pain may also cause an alpaca to swallow hurriedly or incompletely.

Watch for:

• Sudden coughing or gagging
• Neck extension
• Repeated swallowing
• Excessive salivation
• Frothing
• Regurgitation
• Feed or fluid from the nostrils
• Respiratory distress

Feed material from the nose raises concern for esophageal obstruction, regurgitation or swallowing dysfunction and creates a risk of aspiration pneumonia.

Do not force water, oil or oral medication into an alpaca that is choking, regurgitating or swallowing abnormally. Contact the veterinarian.

The Monthly Owner Dental Check

Owners should not attempt to perform a deep oral examination without appropriate training, restraint and equipment. However, several useful observations can be incorporated into the monthly physical.

Observe the Alpaca Eating

Offer familiar hay and watch the entire process.

Record:

• Interest in food
• Ability to grasp forage
• Chewing rhythm
• Side-to-side jaw movement
• Food dropping
• Cheek filling
• Swallowing
• Salivation
• Coughing
• Time required to eat
• Whether the alpaca stops before herd mates

Examine the Front of the Mouth

When safe and tolerated, observe:

• Incisor alignment
• Relationship to the dental pad
• Broken or loose teeth
• Uneven wear
• Gum swelling
• Oral odor
• Lip injury
• Fighting teeth that may require evaluation

Do not force the mouth open or place fingers between the cheek teeth.

Palpate the Face and Jaw

Use both hands to compare the right and left sides.

Feel for:

• Hard swelling
• Soft swelling
• Heat
• Pain
• Uneven contours
• Draining tracts
• Moisture
• Packed feed within a cheek

Record Weight and Body Condition

Dental disease should be considered when an alpaca:

• Loses weight unexpectedly
• Loses muscle along the spine
• Requires more time to eat
• Appears hungry but does not maintain weight
• Prefers softer food
• Produces less manure
• Develops recurrent choke

When to Contact the Veterinarian

Arrange veterinary dental evaluation for:

• Facial or jaw swelling
• A draining tract
• Persistent bad breath
• Broken or loose teeth
• Incisors no longer meeting the dental pad appropriately
• Feed packed inside the cheek
• Repeated food dropping
• Weight loss
• Reduced chewing or cud production
• Nasal discharge associated with eating
• Repeated choke
• Pain when the face or jaw is touched
• A change in jaw movement
• Fighting teeth causing injury
• Any dental concern that returns after treatment

Seek emergency assistance for:

• Respiratory distress
• Feed or fluid coming from the nostrils
• Suspected choke
• Severe oral bleeding
• Facial trauma
• Inability to eat or drink
• Rapidly expanding swelling
• A weak, dehydrated or recumbent alpaca

The Connection to the Stoic Alpaca

The alpaca standing at the feeder may not be eating.

The alpaca chewing may not be grinding food effectively.

The alpaca with a full fleece may be losing weight.

The alpaca with a tooth-root infection may not react dramatically when the jaw is touched.

Dental disease teaches owners why routine monthly examinations, weight records and careful observation matter. We are not waiting for the alpaca to announce that something hurts. We are learning to recognize the quiet evidence.