Pet Dental Health Awareness

February is pet dental health month. This is a perfect time to review or initiate a dental hygiene plan for your pet. Pets have teeth too, and it is unwise to take those pearly whites for granted--or are they pearly white? Dogs and cats have teeth that are similar to people. Their "baby" or deciduous teeth are replaced at 4-6 months of age by adult teeth. These teeth need to last a lifetime. Improper care for teeth can lead to dental disease. This can have undesirable effects in the oral cavity such as tartar build-up, inflammation of the gums, bad breath and dental pain. In addition dental disease can have detrimental effects on the rest of the body. Bacteria from the mouth can lead to disease in the kidneys, liver and heart.

So how can you best take care of those teeth? The best first step is to have a professional dental examination. This will give your veterinarian an opportunity to evaluate Fido's gums and teeth. From here an appropriate oral hygiene program can be established to meet your pet's needs and temperament and your lifestyle.

Home care should ideally include brushing of the teeth on a regular basis (at least twice a week). There are numerous pet pastes available. When choosing a paste be certain it does not contain fluoride (fluoride can lead to stomach upset). Pastes provide you with an abrasive action on the teeth helping you to remove soft plaque on the teeth before it turns into hard tartar. Many also contain an antibacterial enzyme system. While brushing is the best plaque remover - if not possible - alternatives include antibacterial gels, chew toys / rawhides and treats. They will have abrasive action and also enhance saliva production (saliva has enzymes that are antibacterial). Some caution should be used with chew toys to avoid foreign body ingestion (supervision is recommended). There are also dental diets that can be used as maintenance diets with kibbles formulated for maximum tartar control.

Professional care may also be advised. This is a multi-purpose procedure. It includes scaling of the teeth to remove tartar both above and below the gumline followed by polishing to smooth the enamel surface and to remove and small residual tartar. The gumline will also be probed to detect any pockets around the teeth. If present these pockets are flushed with antibacterial to prevent bacterial growth. A fluoride treatment is often performed as well. Extractions can also be performed at this time if deemed necessary. Once the teeth have been professional cleaned home care to maintain good oral hygiene is very important.