How to Brush Your Pet’s Teeth

We’ve all heard that brushing our pet’s teeth is the best thing for their dental health, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy, and we often don’t do it. Here are some tips on establishing a teeth-brushing routine with your dog or cat.

As with any training, starting early will lead to the best success. However, if you didn’t adopt your pet as a puppy or kitten, don’t despair! Even an old dog (or cat) can learn new tricks! Routine is key. If you brush your pet’s teeth every day, he will soon become familiar with the routine and willingly accept it.

To get started, work with your pet’s mouth. It’s important that your pet be used to you handling her mouth and looking inside of it. This allows you to brush her teeth, and (bonus!) gives your veterinarian an easier time examining her mouth. When you are working with her mouth, be patient and make it fun! Use lots of loving praise.

In the first few days handle your pet’s muzzle and touch his lips. Then work up to rubbing his teeth and gums with your finger. You can try putting a few drops of water flavored with chicken or beef bouillon (for dogs) or tuna juice (for cats) in his mouth and he’ll learn to look forward to these sessions. Once he has gotten used to you massaging his gums, use a washcloth with the flavored water or tuna juice.

                         

So, now that your pet is used to letting you play with her mouth, you can introduce the toothbrush. You have two options, depending on the size of her mouth and your own preference. You can use a finger brush that just slides over the end of your finger, or you can use a soft veterinary or human toothbrush. To brush her teeth, hold the brush at a 45-degree angle to the tooth and gently brush in a circular pattern from the gum to the tip of the tooth.

                        

Ok, you know that brushing is the best thing for your pet’s teeth, and now you know how to do it, but what else can you do? There are several products that claim to help with pet dental health. You could even argue that there are so many choices that it may be hard to know which products actually work and which don’t. Luckily, the hard work has been done for you! The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) tests and examines veterinary products that claim to help with dental health. If the product does what it claims to do and is beneficial to the dental health of your pet, the VOHC will award its seal, which will be visible on the product’s label.

                               

Did you know that dental disease is the most common disease in dogs and cats? Over 60% of all pets over the age of 3 have some form of dental disease; however most pets will show few signs. It's up to us as pet owners and caretakers to uncover this hidden and often painful condition.

Just like we have to visit the dentist to maintain our healthy teeth, so do our pets. However the reason for the dental disease is different. In humans the most common problem is tooth decay that results in painful cavities. In dogs and cats the most common problem is periodontal disease. Periodontal disease is the inflammation and infection of the tissue surrounding the teeth. 

What is that gross build-up on your pet's teeth? Calculus! Imagine, if you never brushed your teeth, what they would look like. Dogs and cats have tartar build-up, just like we do, but when it doesn't get cleaned away it becomes mineralized as calculus. Once calculus is formed it can only be removed by a professional scaling and polishing. As calculus builds up it presses on the gums causing inflammation and infection, called gingivitis. As oral infection increases bacteria can be absorbed into the bloodstream and carried to other organs. Kidney and liver problems are often caused by “bad teeth.”

A professional cleaning of your pet's teeth is similar to the way your teeth are cleaned at the dentist. Because we can't ask a dog or a cat to “open wide” and to stay that way, anesthesia is required. Once your pet is asleep, the teeth are scaled both above and below the gum line and then polished to help prevent plaque build-up. After your pet's teeth are cleaned, tartar begins forming in as little as six hours, so at-home care is a must. The gold-standard in at-home care is teeth-brushing, but there are other products available to help. 

Check back here next time for tips on how to brush your pet's teeth and the best dental products products available.