A Common Oral Tumor: The Epulis
By Roseann Fucillo
This article first appeared in the March 2010 AKC GAZETTE

To subscribe to the Gazette, please visit akc.org/pubs.

My ole boy, Manny, was 13 years old this past October.  I am so fortunate to still have him with me and in good condition enjoying a full active life.  He is a gentle soul, who gives me soft pats behind my legs to let me know that he is there, and other subtle gestures, like nudging my hand with his nose to be petted.  Although he is not a face washer, he always wants to sit beside me when I am watching TV for more pets and hugs. 

Yet my Manny is also a bit of a curmudgeon.  He is the alfa dog who barks orders at the younger ones, keeping them all in line, making sure that he is always the first one at the door to go outside and the first waiting at the top of the stairs to come back in.  He takes charge of special duties like “pee-patrol” and alerting the rest of the boys when there is a bitch in season. Then it becomes a truly mad dash outside to see who will be the first to discover the results of the “pee mail” in the yard. 

I have fought a battle most of his adult life to keep his teeth and gums healthy.  I brushed, scaled, polished, used enzyme sprays, and most recently, used water additives to prevent tartar from forming.  I have also used Clindadrops monthly to curtail any infections.  However, I recently noticed a growth on his gums, hidden by the flesh of his lower lip.  It worried me to put him under anesthesia at his age for teeth cleaning or any kind of surgery.  When I spoke to my vet, though, he reassured me that he would examine the results of the blood work and x-rays to make sure Manny did not have any health issues that would put him in any danger or prevent him from having surgery. 

He identified the growth as an epulis, which is the most common type of benign or non-cancerous tumor in dog's mouth, generally found in middle-age dogs over 6 years old. It does not spread to other parts of the body, but can be locally invasive, meaning that it can grow into the tissues surrounding its original location.   

A dog is usually unaffected by the growth at first. However, if the epulis becomes large, it could cause problems with eating, and can bleed, or even affect the teeth or jawbone.

Sometimes, in removing an epulis, especially a larger one, the teeth adjacent to it also have to be removed. In some instances, portions of the jawbone may need to be removed as well to cure the condition;  if a portion of the tumor remains, often it will regrow. For treating large tumors, radiation treatment is sometimes used in addition to or instead of surgery.

In Manny’s case, his prognosis was good, which was predicated on the size and type of epulis he had, and if it could be removed in its entirety. 

In spite of all my initial fears, I am glad I chose to have the surgery as soon as possible. If left unattended the tumor could have gone on to cause bone problems, and would have been much more difficult to completely remove at that point.  Manny is now on the road to recovery and is “a new man" again - still barking his orders. 

Published with permission from the AKC GAZETTE.  This article is not to be copied, whole or in part, without written permission from the author.

Roseann Fucillo