The Dentistry and Oral Surgery Service (DOSS) at the UC Davis veterinary hospital is opening a monthly Stomatitis Clinic to better serve patients suffering from this oral disease and provide them with cutting-edge diagnostic and therapeutic options. This expansion of oral medicine opportunities will greatly improve UC Davis’ ability to treat one of the most devastating oral diseases in pets.

Following a successful soft launch in July and August, the clinic will officially open on September 8, with a 2-day “stomatitis only” receiving and treatment schedule. The Stomatitis Clinic at UC Davis will be the first of its kind anywhere in veterinary medicine. Going forward, DOSS will continue to dedicate two days each month exclusively to stomatitis patients.  

Stomatitis, an oral inflammatory condition that can occur in both dogs and cats, can be debilitating to patients and is mostly poorly to incompletely defined. To date, none of the available treatment options are fully effective. However, UC Davis has made tremendous strides in battling the disease, especially in cats, of which it is estimated to affect approximately 1 in 7.

“UC Davis is considered the leader in feline chronic gingivostomatitis (FCGS) research,” said Dr. Maria Soltero-Rivera, who will lead the clinic. “The creation of a focused clinic, for cats and dogs, is the next step in the natural progression of our groundbreaking work on the disease.”

DOSS has a long history of pioneering treatment for FCGS over the past 10 years, establishing a novel clinical trial utilizing stem cell therapy. As success of the trial grew (with 72% of the cats treated exhibiting positive results), it evolved into several national trials at multiple clinics and universities around the nation. The final product for an accepted protocol of FCGS treatment is inching closer to FDA approval.

Stomatitis cases are considered a high priority, as they have drastic negative impacts on the patient’s quality of life. As such, this dedicated time offered by the Stomatitis Clinic may be increased to more than two days per month if demand dictates so. Additionally, severe cases of stomatitis will still be able to be seen by the service on an urgent basis during other days of the month.

“One of the goals of this dedicated clinic is for it to ease the burden of pet owners who are struggling with this terrible disease and who are finding it difficult to schedule appointments,” said Dr. Soltero-Rivera.

Beyond immediately helping patients in need, the Stomatitis Clinic will be a platform for interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research, using next generation and regenerative technologies. It will act as a potential enrollment platform for current and future clinical trials such as the FCGS stem cell therapy, and evaluation of biomarkers that will predict patient response to therapy.

“We hope that clients of the clinic will be excited that their pet is not only getting groundbreaking treatment for this debilitating disease, but that they are also helping to pave the way toward a cure,” emphasized Dr. Soltero-Rivera.

The Stomatitis Clinic is by referral only, and clients interested in scheduling an appointment should request that their veterinarian submit the referral form to UC Davis.