With February being National Pet Dental Health Month, it’s only fitting to explore ways to keep your pets’ teeth and oral care in tip-top shape!
I’m sure at some point, you’ve heard the cliché, “A dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s.” Actually, that’s a pretty big fib. Dogs have more teeth than humans (which may not be cleaned as frequently), they lick unseen places on their body, and eat less clean things. So, essentially, we probably should be taking much better care of their teeth and mouth than we do our own. They lick, sniff, and chew things a human wouldn’t dare.
One of the first major ways to prevent a bad dental report from your vet is to treat your pets’ teeth just like yours— and brush daily. That’s the ideal situation. However, you may have a spouse, kids, work a lot, and take care of several pets. So, finding the time to commit to teeth brushing could be tough. I suggest brushing, but there are other ways to maintain good dental hygiene.
There are toothbrushes and toothpastes made especially for pets, but other products are available if daily brushing isn’t the most convenient. There are dental chews and additives that can be placed in your pet’s water bowl (which is a dog’s form of Listerine/Mouthwash). Certain veterinarian-created products are best because their chews and products may contain additives that remove tartar, stimulate gums, and reduce bacteria in the mouth and on teeth to help them stay healed and healthy.
Be sure to ask your vet for a dental report at every visit. But, on a regular basis I recommend paying attention to your pet in case they exhibit signs that care is needed. Call your vet if you recognize any of the following:
- foul breath
- red gums or receding gums
- bleeding
- tooth loss
- yellow tartar/plaque
It’s a fact that increased tartar can lead to various diseases and extreme medical conditions, including heart disease, kidney disease, lung disease, liver disease, and valvular endocarditis which could lead to heart failure or renal failure.
Some of these illnesses are fatal. While kidneys and livers are regenerable, heart damage cannot be repaired. Though, a heart transplant would be an option, it’s not a common practice in animals.
We recommend at minimum that your pet’s teeth are cleaned professionally once per year. Depending on breed or tartar accumulation, twice per year may be suggested by your vet. With these cleanings— performed under anesthesia— scaling, grading, and polishing is done.
Cy-Fair Animal Hospital offers these services, and each February you can get our discounted price ($189.99). Call to book now, so you can take advantage of our National Pet Dental Health Month pricing.
Pearly whites aren’t just something we take pride in as humans; we should be equally excited for our pets to have clean and healthy teeth.