Dog Video - How to Brush Your Dog's Teeth

Posted by Clare Bristow

February is dog dental awareness month in the United States; a few months ago I explained how to brush your dog's teeth, and how to select dental products for your dog.

It's often easier to see how to do things rather than read about them so today I've posted a video in which Stanley Coren shows you how to get your dog used to having his teeth brushed - the key is to take it in small steps and have some great tasting toothpaste to hand!

At the end of the video Stanley Coren says you only need to brush your dog's teeth once or twice a week in order to keep his teeth healthy. Whilst this is better than not brushing at all, ideally you should aim for a daily brushing to remove the plaque and remove the risk of your dog suffering periodontal disease.

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Keywords: dog dental care, Dog Health, how to clean your dogs teeth, periodontal disease

Filed Under Dog Health, Blog

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Are Your Dog's White Teeth a Ticking Time Bomb?

Posted by Clare Bristow

dogs-white-teeth Anesthesia-free dental cleaning is increasingly being offered to dog owners as reliable treatment for dog dental disease - unfortunately this is not case.

Although awareness of the importance of cleaning dog teeth is increasing, many owners are put off arranging a [tag]prophylaxis[/tag] (cleaning and polishing of a dog's teeth by a vet) for their dog because the procedure requires anesthesia.

The people offering anesthesia-free dental cleaning are playing on this fear of anesthesia to promote their service, but what they offer is purely cosmetic and does not prevent dental disease - a prophylaxis as part of a dental care program does.

Anesthesia-free dental cleaning only involves removing plaque and tartar from the visible part of your dog's teeth - it doesn't touch the tartar that is below the gum line which, if it's not removed, will develop into periodontal disease.

As discussed in an earlier post, dental disease is progressive, if it goes untreated for period of time you could be looking at multiple teeth extractions, abscesses, possible internal organ damage not to mention extreme discomfort for your dog.

This is why I call anethesia-free dental cleaning a time bomb - you are given a false sense of security that your dog's teeth are healthy because they look nice and white, and his breath smells good; however, periodontal disease is quietly advancing below the gum line.

Anesthesia for pets does carry some risk, but it is a great deal safer than it was ten to twenty years ago, when stories about pets dying under anesthesia were sadly quite common.

Christine Keith has written an excellent article on why we should be wary of anesthesia-free dental cleaning as a way to treat dog dental disease and why procedures requiring anesthesia are now much less of a risk for our pets.

I recommend you read it.

Keywords: cleaning dog teeth, dog dental disease, dog losing tooth, dog teeth, Eyes, Ears, Paws and Teeth, periodontal disease, prophylaxis

Filed Under Eyes, Ears, Paws and Teeth, Blog

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How to Clean Your Dog's Teeth

Posted by Clare Bristow

brushing-dogs-teeth Ideally you should be cleaning your dog's teeth on a daily basis, and at least every other day, in order to remove the plaque and prevent a build up of tartar on his teeth.

You will need to introduce tooth brushing gradually; deciding one day that your dog will have his cleaned and putting a toothbrush smeared with toothpaste into his mouth and start brushing is likely to leave you very frustrated, and you dog will be put him off for life!

I made the mistake of trying to do it too quickly, and had to start over again with the steps I outline below.

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