Three Things You Can Do for Your Pet’s Teeth at Home
by Jennifer Keaten
DVM, MPH, DACVPM
mainelyvetdentistry.com
Did you know that in addition to trimming your pet’s nails, cleaning its ears, and occasional bathing, you should also be doing something daily for its teeth? Arguably, oral care may be even more important than some of the other daily maintenance things we do for our pets.
We know from human medicine and dentistry that oral health is significantly and directly related to a person’s overall health. Excessive plaque, tartar, and bacteria in the mouth leads to inflammation, which is the immune system’s response to invaders of the body. This inflammatory response not only causes damage in the mouth with gingivitis and eventual bone destruction but also weakens the immune system’s ability to deal with other problems. Additionally, bacteria in the mouth enters the bloodstream and can cause changes to the heart, liver, kidneys, and brain. We also know that systemic bacteria can lead to cognitive dysfunction and worsening of Alzheimer’s disease.
Other than the fact that pets, unfortunately, do not live as long as we do, their teeth are very much like ours and prone to many of the same problems. Their oral health is also directly linked to their overall health and taking care of their teeth could mean we get to spend a little more time with our beloved animals. Here we will discuss some options for taking care of their teeth at home, one of the tools recommended to keep the mouth healthy and increasing the time between cleanings and assessments.
The best thing you can do for your pet’s teeth at home is mechanical removal of plaque every day. We recommend using a soft bristled toothbrush of the appropriate size for your pet. We cannot use our toothpaste in their mouth because it generally has fluoride in it, and they do not know to not swallow it. We recommend finding a flavored pet toothpaste that your pet will willingly eat. We recommend starting slowly and at first just introducing the toothbrush and paste and slowly work your way up to brushing for a minute or two. Starting a brushing routine is all about making it a positive experience for both you and your pet. We have a great video on our website on how to introduce brushing. Brushing should be done at minimum every other day since plaque becomes tartar in 24-72 hours and cannot be brushed off. Brushing your pet’s teeth less than that is probably not worth it. While brushing is the best means since the bristles can get under the gumline, dental wipes can also help remove plaque from the teeth.
While mechanical removal of plaque is the best form of dental homecare, we do not recommend scaling or scraping your pet’s teeth while it is awake. This can cause damage to the enamel and does not remove the biofilm and build-up that causes the inflammatory response under the gumline. Scraping and scaling on an awake animal removes only superficial tartar and may make its teeth look better above the gumline but does not actually prevent dental disease that happens under the gumline, not to mention the stress it can cause an animal. When teeth are professionally cleaned, the teeth are cleaned under the gumline and are also polished to remove micro abrasions caused by scaling after. This cannot be properly done on any animal while it is awake and, therefore, should be avoided.
We realize that brushing is not possible for some people and pets. It takes time and patience to train your pet and brushing can be easy to forget. Thankfully, there are a few other options. The next best option is a daily dental chew or dental diet. Some people give their pets antlers and marrow bones to chew on. We do not recommend this. While hard objects do remove tartar, they also remove enamel (the protective layer of the tooth) and often cause fractured teeth. Instead, we recommend dental chews certified by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC). You can check out their website at VOHC.org to see the full list of approved products. Our favorite chew is Oravet as it has a waxy substance that helps coat the teeth to prevent plaque from sticking. We also use Oravet sealant on all our patients’ teeth after they are cleaned. Besides daily chews, there are also complete dental diets. These dental specific diets are a great option, especially for pets that are prone to dental disease, or for those animals that will not tolerate their teeth being brushed.
After brushing and dental chews or diets, water and food additives can also be helpful in reducing plaque and tartar in your pet’s mouth. Again, we stick with products recommended by the VOHC and our favorite is Healthy Mouth because it is approved for both cats and dogs and even horses! Healthy Mouth is an all-natural water additive and can be added to your pet’s food if they will not drink it in the water. It comes in a few flavors as well, so most pets find it to be palatable.
While daily dental homecare is a huge part of preventive dentistry and keeping your pet’s mouth healthy, it does not replace the need for regular oral exams and cleanings with a veterinarian. It can, however, increase the time between cleanings for some animals. One monumental difference between pets and people is that pets cannot tell us when something is bothering them in their mouth and animals are much more stoic than we are. We often find significant changes in an animal’s mouth once it is under anesthesia either on oral exam or dental x-rays. Even on the best animal, we cannot do a thorough oral exam while it is awake, and we definitely cannot take dental x-rays. If we wait to do assessments and cleanings on our pets until we can see a problem on an awake exam, there are often significant problems at this point that cannot be reversed without extracting teeth. This is why it is recommended to have your pet’s teeth assessed under anesthesia on an annual basis by your veterinarian.
Many of these homecare products can be found online, at a pet store, or from your veterinarian. If you have not talked to your veterinarian about your pet’s oral health and what you can do at home, we highly recommend it. We also carry many of these products at our clinic. Schedule your pet’s oral health assessment and consultation today!