The Development of an Oral Health Charting System for Koalas<i>(Phascolarctos Cinereus)</i>

Pettett, Lyndall M.; McKinnon, A.; Wilson, Gregory D.; Carrick, F. N.; Sly, Lindsay I.; Bird, P. S.

doi:10.1177/089875641202900404

Cited by 10 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Department employees provide veterinarian assessment and treatment, vegetation collection and facility maintenance (McKinnon, 2002). Trialling new veterinarian therapies, public relations and collaborations with researchers and similar Australian facilities are also ongoing functions of the staff (McKinnon, 2002, Lee et al, 2011, Pettett et al, 2012. Animals brought to the facility are diagnosed, treated and maintained after sustaining injury, disease or orphan status.…”

Section: The Moggill Koala Hospitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral health in South East Queensland Koalas: Prevalence of periodontal disease and other pathologies

Pettett¹

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The koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) is one of Australia's most highly specialised folivores with a diet exclusively of eucalyptus leaves to provide all nutritive needs. For this it is dependent on good dentition for optimal health and quality of life. The purpose of this study was to characterise and describe the level of oral health and disease in koalas and then create tools for ongoing analysis.The historical records over a 17-year period were noted for the koalas admitted to the Moggill Koala Hospital in South East Queensland. Further, in this study the conclusions were that oral health issues when they existed were only being identified as "low key" due to the lack of investigative tools being used during examinations. This provided the reasoning and impetus behind developing tools to determine the true extent of oral health conditions in the koala. A suitable assessment tool for diagnosing the oral health was designed based on the index scoring methodology and the layout of the Moggill Koala Hospital admission chart, a new oral health chart template was developed. The chart was based on examination of 30 "free-range koalas" and validation and quality assurance analysis of four examiners of varying qualifications. The chart was separated into three sections; containing general animal information such as sex, age, and current systemic health; the General Oral Cavity section and containing information on 12 koala-specific health questions and finally a section on the periodontal health. The charting data is multifunctional with analysis of individual koalas, (sex, group or age). The data from each section provided an index value that was compatible with values from other species clinical charting systems.Using the chart, populations of 200 "free-range" and 95 captive koalas (from three zoos) were examined. Three major indexes were developed during the chart development process and used the following equation; General Oral Cavity (GOCI) + Oral Health Index (OHI) = Final Oral Health Index (FOHI). Initially, the three major index values plus all additional information of each chart were analysed to show the current baseline values of oral health conditions in the koala. Any ii comparison based on singular or multiple animals would either show a decline, same rate or increase from the baseline. These baseline parameters could be compared against any other species that uses the same 0-3 index system.The proportion of koalas from the whole population with an orally related problem was 86%.The average FOHI for the koala as a species was 3.78 ± 3.19, median 3.00. This is the mild category and held 84.5% of all cases. The maximum scores for the groups showed Zoo 3 as having lower range (Zoo 1; 11.42 for a TWC 1 male, Zoo 2; 13.40, Zoo 3; 4.13 and "free-range"; 15.98). The third zoo was the only group to have also had significantly better oral health than "free-range" koalas.Captive koalas showed high scoring at young age (11.42), the "free-range" comparable age score was 3.84. At population level when controlli...

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Section: The Moggill Koala Hospitalmentioning

confidence: 99%

Oral health in South East Queensland Koalas: Prevalence of periodontal disease and other pathologies

Pettett¹

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“…Oral cavity and dental health examinations are poorly described in koalas. Deviations from normal occlusion were first detected in several Queensland koalas in an earlier study by Pettett et al . The koala dentition consists of 30 herbivorous teeth designed to masticate tough eucalyptus leaves which is the complete diet of the koala.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The canines do not occlude with any other teeth while the incisal edge of the mandibular incisors occlude against the incisal edge of the second maxillary incisors. A slight overlap towards the third maxillary incisors may occur and appears to be the norm . The jaw alignment is anisognathic, where the maxilla is wider than the mandible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Malocclusions in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus)

Pettett

Wilson

Nicolson³

et al. 2019

Aust Veterinary J

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Malocclusions are a misalignment or incorrect positioning of the teeth when the upper and lower jaws close. These are poorly described in the koala and can result in irregular mastication which can have lifelong effects on body condition and oral health. A total of 370 koalas from two populations in Queensland (295) and one in South Australia (75) were examined for malocclusions. The prevalence of malocclusions in South Australian free‐ranging koalas, captive Queensland koalas and Queensland free‐ranging koalas was 39% (44), 30% (29) and 22% (29) respectively. Four types of malocclusion were identified based on severity of misalignment of the incisor/canine region, types 1, 2, 3 and 4. Maxillary overbite measurements of the molariform teeth were determined and these anisognathic values were then used to describe malocclusions within familial relationships in captive colonies. Captive koalas with a malocclusion had narrower mandibular width that ranged between 0.5 and 1% less than the normal measurements. The specific malocclusions reported in this study affected individuals by leading to tooth rotation, mobility and erosion with inefficient mastication of food and vegetation compaction. These changes increased the oral cavity pathology, by placing animals at risk of periodontal disease. There was evidence of familial links to malocclusion types in captive animals. Therefore captive breeding recommendations should consider known koala malocclusion traits to minimise their effect on future generations.

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“…There have been many studies determining which of the causative agent(s) initiate oral diseases in humans and domesticated animals. Marsupials also have oral diseases 3,4 and culture-dependent studies have shown a range of bacteria can be isolated from the marsupial oral cavity 5 . However culture-based studies, while useful to enable precise characterisation of putative periodontopathogens, generally underestimate microbial community diversity.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Koalas do present with severe periodontal disease 4 and with severe loss of alveolar bone associated with age and conditions such as food impaction 3 ( Figure 1). In koalas <7 years old with good oral health, there was an absence of black-pigmented bacteria, compared to koalas >7 years of age, where 50% harboured black-pigmented bacteria, the majority of which were identified as Porphyromonas gingivalis-like 14 .…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%