By: Andrea S. Freeman, VMD, MS
It’s no secret that our pets can’t brush their teeth. Imagine not brushing your teeth for days, weeks, months, or even years. This is the case for many dogs and cats. Without routine dental care, plaque and bacteria accumulate under the gum line and also on the surface of the teeth, creating cavities. Over time this plaque and bacteria erode at the ligament that holds the teeth in place causing teeth to become increasingly loose. Bacteria then have the opportunity to travel down to tooth roots and cause a deep infection there. Bad breath is the least of the problems in that case. Serious pain may arise, but worse than that, bacteremia, a condition when bacteria cross into the bloodstream and cause serious illness, may occur.
If you’ve ever had a toothache or even a small canker sore in your mouth, you know that oral pain can be extremely bothersome in the least and exceedingly painful in the case of an infected tooth root or a broken tooth. For dogs and cats, oral pain not only means that it is difficult and/or uncomfortable to eat and drink, but poor oral health impacts many other facets of their lives. They use their mouths to scratch an itch, to pick up a toy or play ball, and especially for cats, to groom themselves.
Periodontal disease in our pets is extremely common. In fact, studies have found that by two years of age, 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have periodontal diseases. So why then, do even really dedicated pet owners so often ignore their pets’ dental health?
The answer is simple…most pets don’t like their teeth brushed. They aren’t trained early on to accept teeth brushing and so it becomes difficult, or even dangerous as some pets may inadvertently chew or bite during the process. When this is the case, a variety of other dental health alternatives may be utilized – including dental chews, wipes, sealants, and other oral supplements to help prevent plaque accumulation. Ultimately, however, none of these can take the place of a thorough professional dental cleaning.
During a dental cleaning performed by a veterinarian, the teeth are scaled to remove plaque and tartar, polished, and probed to evaluate the extent of periodontal disease. Often dental x-rays are utilized to evaluate the health of the tooth and jaw below the gum line. Dental sealants may also be applied to help delay plaque and tartar accumulation. Many pet parents ask me to scale their pet’s teeth while they are awake or otherwise seem reluctant to anesthetize their pet for a dental cleaning. However, there is no substitute for a dental cleaning performed under anesthesia during which time all surfaces of the teeth (including those on the inside/alongside the tongue and those below the gum line), may be thoroughly examined, scaled and polished. Pets that have routine dentistry performed regularly (ideally at least once a year), are much more likely to have healthy, pain-free mouths and to maintain their teeth well into their advanced years. Pets that don’t receive dental care until later in life when their teeth are loose and diseased are much more likely to have concurrent heart, lung, liver, and kidney infections. They are also more likely to need lengthy and more painful anesthetic procedures to remove diseased teeth and to treat deep-seated tooth and jawbone infections.
In between routine veterinary dental cleanings, I typically recommend that my clients utilize maintenance dental health products that bear the seal of the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) on them. The manufacturers of these products have submitted study data to prove efficacy in preventing plaque and tartar buildup in animals. A list of products that have been awarded the VOHC seal can be found on their website at www.vohc.org.
February is National Pet Dental Health Month. It’s a reminder to not neglect our pets’ oral health or comfort and that if your pet hasn’t had a dental cleaning recently, you should strongly consider scheduling one. But oral care isn’t just a once-a-year thing, routine care year-round is important for keeping our pets’ mouths healthy and ultimately for our furry family members to live longer, happier, and healthier lives.
At KIND Veterinary Care Center, we are committed to providing exceptional and compassionate, life-long care for our patients. As a full-service veterinary hospital, we offer comprehensive and convenient medical, dental and surgical services with a personal touch.