February is National Pet Dental Health Month. How is your dog’s smile? Do you regularly care for her teeth? Does she get dental check ups on a regular basis? Dental health is more than just the mouth, it can affect overall health. My teeth are looking nice and shiny, and my gums are a pretty pink which means I’m taking good care of my teeth.
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National Pet Dental Health Month
Did you know that by age three, around eighty percent of dog have signs of dental disease? Dental disease can cause bad breath, weight loss, bleeding gums, excruciating mouth pain, broken teeth, early tooth loss, and if not properly cared for, overall health issues. Small breed dogs are more prone to tartar, gum recession, and loss of teeth than larger dogs. Still, every dog needs to have a proper dental care regimen. Dental work and extractions are also very expensive, which is another reason to keep your dog’s teeth in top shape. How do we care for our teeth?
Brush Your Dog’s Teeth
Brushing your dog’s teeth is as important as brushing your own teeth. We each started brushing our teeth at bedtime at nine weeks old. Mom started slowly using some special dog toothpaste on her finger and would rub our teeth and gums. Gradually we switched over to a regular toothbrush. Our teeth get brushed every night and we love it.
The toothpaste tastes great and takes the place of a bedtime snack. Always remember to use a toothpaste for dogs, there are several yummy flavors available. We buy our Virbac flavored toothpaste at Chewy.com. For our toothbrushes, Mom gives us hers every few months when she gets a new one. They are soft, and work great for us.
Give PlaqueOff A Try
Our second weapon to fight dental disease is PlaqueOff powder. Mom puts it on our breakfast every morning, and we eat it right up! This powder is made from selected North Atlantic seaweed. PlaqueOff gets into the saliva and works to soften the tartar on the teeth. It contains no additives, artificial preservatives, gluten or added sugar. We first heard about this from breeders in Europe. After using it for about nine months, we had a dental checkup and our teeth looked fantastic. It takes at least a month before you will notice any difference in the teeth.
Healthy Chewing Options
We love to have a nice chew in the evenings when we are hanging out relaxing. Our very favorite is marrow bones. Mom buys them fresh from the local butcher and then freezes them. We prefer the raw ones over the smoked, and Mom says the raw ones are safer. The smoked marrow bones tend to break and crack easier. The bones are hard. If your dog has dental issues, check with your veterinarian before trying marrow bones. We wouldn’t want anyone to break or crack a tooth. As for us, we really grind on them, and that grinding helps scrape tartar and plaque off our teeth.
Bully sticks are another evening chew we enjoy. We have to really chew on them which also cleans our teeth, and creates more saliva in our mouths to help keep all that bad stuff from accumulating on our teeth. Six inch thick ones work best for us. If you are watching your furry waistline, you won’t want to have these too often as Mom says they have a lot of calories. We get one a week each.
Root chews are also a great way to clean teeth naturally, and help make your pup’s breath more kissable. Our root chews are lying around the living room. We usually pick them up and gnaw on them for a while every day or two. They are not as hard as bones, there is no odor, and they don’t make a mess. Root chews also seem to last forever.
As a reminder, we are just a couple of hounds, not veterinarians. We can only post about what works for us. The main thing is to spread the message about the importance of dental care for dogs. If you are not sure what the best options are for your dog, check with your veterinarian. Happy teeth brushing!
You girls look so adorable with your toothbrushes and you are making us smile☺ Great info!
Hopefully you have a pretty, shiny smile 🙂
Great information and boy do I know how important dental stuff is, it’s a must to take care of those teeth!
We really want to keep all our teeth forever if we can. Can’t chew bones without teeth.
Hubby brushed our precious Little Bit’s teeth every single morning. She would just stand there and let him too. We sure miss her. She was the best girl dog ever.
Have a woof woof day. My best to your mom. ♥
So sorry you don’t have her anymore. We love getting our teeth brushed too.
I don’t know how you get them to pose that way. They are just adorable.
Thank you. Our nose work instructor, after Emma passed away, said that often times when a pet passes, the other pets will pick up and show traits of that pet. Mom sees a lot of that in me, and even Bailie has started to enjoy modeling more than she used to.
Torrey gets her teeth brushed, but Roxy won’t have any of it.
Oh Roxy! Are you becoming a grouchy old lady dog? At least Torrey knows it is important.
we will try that powder too, that sounds very good… but we are afraid that the vet has to do some cleaning this year…..sigh..
Emma’s breeder in the UK raves about PlaqueOff, so we tried it and it does help. Once your teeth are shined up, you can start a new routine to keep them nice.
These are awesome photos Madison! You look adorable. My brother loved bully sticks and bones. Right now I am not as much into chewing them. Mom is wondering if I am missing chewing with my brother. It isn’t much fun alone. I don’t know, but I am not that interested right now. You girls are so cute. So mom says that we have 8 more days of good snuggle time and then… life changes! She is excited. I am not so sure. Great post today Madison. Have a good day. your friend, Lilly
Hi Lilly! Maybe you just associate chewing with your brother and it isn’t the same. Mom was asking us the other day when we thought your new sibling would be arriving. It will be fun. Bailie wanted nothing to do with me the first few days, but then one day we became best buddies forever within a few minutes. You will be the same way, I bet. Have a great day!
OMG!!! these two girls are priceless in their pj’s. This has got to be one of my favorite posts!!!
I tried the plaque off powder but it gave me an upset tummy so I have to get my teefs cleaned instead…I was holding out for sum TREATS for cleaning teefs but Mum says I is getting too *whispers* fat. Cheeky Mum!
Loves and licky kisses
Princess Leah xxx
Wow. Never heard of anyone getting sick from it. Bummer. We are usually too thin, so we can have extra treats for you 😉
My mom spent a couple of hours yesterday at the dentist having a root canal! I chew on my antler and I have several nylabones nightly. I love to chew. You know my story on the root chew! I get cranky when mom messes around my muzzle – nobody understands why (my brother is the same way about his feet!) I am going to have my mom checque into the Placque Off. XOXO, Sparkle
P.S. I love your jammies!
Gotta have doggies on the pjs.
We are pretty good about Mom checking around our mouths and even combing our beards, but we don’t like her messing with our nails. Somehow she always wins that fight, but we don’t like it. Give PlaqueOff a try. It does take a while to see results, but we did notice for sure after a few months. One jar lasts for quite a while as you don’t need a lot of it. PS: Sorry about the root canal. No fun.
Mommie keeps saying she has to start brushing my teeth and then forgets. I never remind her. I”m probably the only dog that doesn’t like bully sticks or stuff like that. She used to buy me Greenies, I loved them.
Now she said I have so many treats from BlogPaws that she wants to use them up. She even gave a bunch to our doormen. They give all of the dogs treats when we come in from our nightly walk. There are A LOT of us. I always run around the desk ’cause I can’t wait for mine. They like me so they give me more than one.
Not sure if the powder will work. I eat so fast the saliva won’t have a chance to mix in. Thanks for the advice. If there is ever another BlogPaws, maybe we will meet.
Ruff, Duncan
Bailie is a fast eater, and it works for her, so I think the point is to get it into your system and then when saliva is created it has the stuff in it that softens the tartar. That is why it takes some time using it before it actually works. Have your mom keep your toothbrush by hers so she can’t forget.
Your teeth look awesome! We love brushing our teeth too. Now, mom wants to get us pjs!
Sorry about that, boys. What would you want to have on them for a design? Happy brushing.
We agree with the Bayou boys….your pj’s are adorable!! Luke has very nice white teeth. As you saw recently, he loves his root chew. I also try to give him a carrot stick most days as those can help keep his teeth clean too.
Keep up the good work, girls!
We would never eat a carrot unless it is cooked and in some other food, but we know lots of dogs love them. Mom says her Katie always loved carrots.
Keeping those pearly whites beautiful is very important to overall health. None of my cats will let me bruth their teeth, but they see the vet regularly and get them cleaned.
Mom tried to brush the teeth of our felines, but it was impossible. The kitties need dental cleanings now and then because they refuse to do things that are good for their teeth. We dogs love brushing, chewing, and our PlaqueOff.
Mama is putting Plaque Off on our next Chewy.com order…sounds like good stuff…expecially for the boyz, because they will have nothing to do with a toothbrush.
I get my teeth brushed every night after Mama brushes hers. After ummm…LOTS of $$ being spent on Bilbo, Dory, Jakey and Arty’s teeth, Mama made sure to start brushing my teeth as soon as she got me home(first with her finger, then the finger cot brush and now with a big girl toothbrush)! I like the peanut butter flavored toothpaste…YUM!
xoxo,
Rosy
We have seafood flavor right now and love it. So glad you are working on keeping your teeth healthy. Brushing is something we look forward to every night. Hope the PlaqueOff helps your brothers, but give it at least a couple months to see the results.
Momma needs to be better about brushing my teeth.
We keep our toothbrushes near mom’s so she always remembers to brush out teeth at bedtime when she brushes her own teeth.
Beautiful teeth. Thanks for all the information on keeping teeth clean,
As you know, it is so important, but most dogs have no dental hygiene plan.
Yes, our dogs get their teeth brushed every day! Even Hachi is learning to accept that. In fact, he loves it because the toothpaste tastes so good (according to dogs!).
That is the key. We all were pretty hooked on it early.
i buy the baby toothbrushes at the dollar store in soft. they work great because they are small enough to fit in their mouth. i use an all natural by Oxyfresh that my dental specialist helped to develop many yrs ago. we also use additive in the water and a dental gum gel for health of the gums. i do scrap the tartar off as well. Harley gets a lot o tartar, so i use the little dental brushes that go between the teeth, she has some spaces. she has had gum grafts and root planing. they get their teeth brushed at least once a day. i also use a dental powder on their food made by Vetriscience. the girls dont like to have their teeth brushed but they know it has to be done. we go to the dental specialist 3-6 months, it is a 190 mile trip but he is great. he started the dental program at the nc state vet school.
Sounds like your pups teeth are being well cared for. We tried baby toothbrushes, but Mom finds it easier to use her old ones. They fit in our mouths just fine…she says we are big mouths! Those gum issues and grafts sound painful. So far we both have great chompers and hope they stay that way.
I used to brush the teeth of the pups I took car of a lot and was so happy to see the difference it made when I started brushing the teeth of an older black lab and then added a few dental bones and some breath drops in her food. Her nickname was “stank breath.” I think people are generally pretty bad about doggie dental care and it’s so important, thanks for the post.
Most people seem to think it will just happen, but one does have to make an effort to keep teeth clean and healthy. Getting regular cleaning is expensive, and we don’t want to be under anesthesia if we don’t need to be.