Resorptive lesions in cats: an update

Kirby (2014) explained that the terminology keeps changing regarding resorptive lesions because they are a relatively poorly understood phenomenon; the aetiology has not been definitively proven. They have been called cervical neck lesions, feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions (FORL) and feline dental resorptive lesions (Zivkovich et al, 2010; Zivkovich et al, 2011), however they are now simply referred to as tooth resorption (TR), and they are commonly documented on dental charts using RL to indicate a tooth with a resorptive lesion.

A RL is a hard tissue defect which most veterinary practitioners first identify when it reaches the cementoenamel junction (CEJ), and at this stage it can be identified by visual and/or tactile examination (Gorrel 2015). Gorrel (2015) advised that clinical examination will only facilitate detection of coronal defects, so concavities in the tooth structure at the CEJ or above (Zivkovich et al, 2010), as opposed to those developing on the root surfaces. They can appear anywhere on the tooth surface, however they tend to be more commonly located on the buccal and labial surfaces (Zivkovich et al, 2011).