DrKatrina.com

Dental health is a very important part of your pet’s overall health and wellbeing… and just like humans, dental problems can cause a lot of pain and unnecessary suffering. Gum disease is extremely common in dogs and begins when food particles and saliva accumulate on the teeth, forming a soft plaque that later hardens to tartar. 

 

Signs that indicate that your pet has dental disease include:

·     bad breath

·     red inflamed gums

·     loose teeth

·     difficulty eating, and

·     drooling

 

Sometimes pets may be reluctant to eat or reluctant to play with toys because of dental pain. Untreated teeth can lead to serious problems such as heart and kidney disease.

 

Prevention is definitely the key. Some easy measures you can take include:

·      Feed your pet some dry food and supplement the diet with raw meaty bones. These provide chewing action, which helps to clean teeth and gums. Raw chicken necks are good for cats and small dogs but for larger dogs, I recommend lamb or beef shank bones. Never feed your pet cooked bones as they tend to splinter and can get caught in the throat or gut. Some dogs can’t tolerate bones as they cause diarrhoea, so for them you can try ‘Rawhide’ chews or other chew toys. Toby loves chewing on ropey toys which act as a kind of doggy dental floss.

·      Brushing your dogs teeth - believe it or not, this actually works! There are even special finger toothbrushes available for dogs and flavoured toothpastes that help kill bacteria and break down plaque. The key is to start brushing from puppyhood with just a gauze pad wrapped around your finger so that your pup gets used to this as part of its regular routine. With adults, start at the front teeth and then move to the upper and lower teeth in the back. Hold the toothbrush at a 45 degree angle to the teeth and brush in a circular motion paying attention to the area where teeth and gums meet.

·      Annual dental checks by your vet are important, as dental disease can be a very painful problem. Your vet may recommend ultrasonic scaling to clean teeth and below the gum margin where plaque accumulates. Occasionally teeth may need to be removed. Your vet may also recommend that your pets be fed a prescription diet, which will help clean the tooth surface while they eat.

With pets, dental issues can really progress before you notice any outward signs of dental disease. Take some time to regularly check your pet’s teeth so he/she can flash those pearly whites for many years to come..