Description

Learn how to care for your dog's teeth. We'll find out what you can do to prevent dental disease and how to maintain your dog's teeth through good dental hygiene.

Transcript

Dr. Mike Ontiveros: Hello, I’m Dr. Mike. Today, we’re going to learn about dental hygiene in pets. It’s important to understand that up to 70% of dogs and cats have dental disease that requires medical attention by the time they are three years old. Many clients will come into my exam room and are shocked to find that their pet already has dental disease. That means, you probably need to be checking your pets teeth and caring for them on a regular basis. So today, we’ll learn how to care for your pet’s teeth properly and why it’s important. We’re going to meet with Dr. James Anthony from VCA All Care. Dr. Anthony is board certified in animal dentistry. Dr. James Anthony: The reason we do an oral hygiene procedure or a teeth cleaning on a pet is mainly to prevent further development of dental disease such as gum recession, gum inflammation, tooth loss, apses from the teeth but more importantly, it’s actually the systemic spread of the bacteria from the mouth can cause problems in other areas of the body such as the heart valves, the kidneys, the lungs. And those problems are far more difficult to treat than just regular gum disease. The most common problems that we see for dental disease in dogs are gum disease. A lot of people don’t do the home care that’s necessary to prevent the gum disease for bring advanced. And as a result, then we have to treat the animal where thee home was initiated, there’s a lot of times that we’re most cases would not require an oral hygiene procedure at all. So, home care is really the key for success long term success. One of the most common things for preventative care is to do brushing. Just like how we brush our teeth, animal could benefit for brushing as well. There are some differences; we just brush the outside of the mouth which makes it a lot easier. 96% of all oral disease is on the outside, not the inside of the mouth. The most efficient method of brushing is horizontally so back and forth. You should use an appropriate size toothbrush and you should ask your veterinarian for those and they can supply those. As far as brushing, it should be brushing on a daily basis. You should not take in more than thirty to sixty seconds. You do it more than that, you do an overkill. And if you’re not brushing on a daily basis, you’re really wasting your time because they may give you the warm and fuzzes inside, but it does no benefit for the animal. It has to be on a daily basis and it has to be a commitment on your part. Other forms of oral home care can be things like dental diets. There are a couple of very good dental diets out there. You can start off using it as a treat and as the results slowly give more and more to the animal. You could use it a regular diet but you don’t have to. Other areas are sub-gels and rinses for the mouth. They’re very simple to apply, you apply it once a day or you could add water additives. There’s also chew toys available and numerous other products that I would ask you to ask your veterinarian about and let them customize a home care package to meet not only your dog or cats needs, but your personal needs as well. Dr. Mike Ontiveros: Dr. Anthony mentioned the importance of maintaining your pet’s good dental hygiene. Let’s briefly review some of his recommendations. First and foremost, brush teeth daily. You must remain committed. Dental diet, there’s special diets that can be mixed with your pet’s current food to maintain good dental health. Gels can be applied weekly to prevent bacteria from sticking to the teeth. There are drinking water additives that might help fig ht plaque. And also chew toys. But ask your veterinarian for their approval before using. As we learn from Dr. Anthony, dental disease in pets can lead to a variety of health problems. Many animal live in chronic pain as people were used to someone telling us they don’t feel good. However, it’s different with the animals. Many will simply live in discomfort and never show any signs. That’s why it’s crucial for you to have your veterinarian, check your pet’s teeth at least once or twice a year. I hope that this information has been helpful and thank you for watching.