Talking Chomp

by | Wednesday | February 9, 2011 | 28 comments

As you may or may not know, February is National Pet Dental Health Month. This is the month we beg and plead owners to do just one little trick- flip your pet’s lip up and check out those back molars, where the worst tartar tends to hang out.

Confronted with the yellow, malodorous reality of what’s really going on behind those fuzzy jowls, most people are quick to realize that canine and feline dental disease is more widespread than they realized. Virbac has a very nice visual of the progressive stages of periodontal disease if you’d like to get a picture for what we’re looking for.

Aaaaahhhhh

If you are one of the 1% of people who brush their pet’s teeth everyday, give yourself a high five. That is amazing, seriously. If you are part of the other 99%, don’t worry, you’re not a horrible person. There are other things you can do:

  1. Make sure your pet is receiving regular veterinary care, including oral examinations and dental cleanings when needed.
  2. Consider one of the many over the counter home dental care products available to help reduce tartar load.

Like all things in life, there are good products and there are not so good products. In response, the American Veterinary Dental College has established the Veterinary Oral Health Council to give a seal of approval to products clinically proven to be efficacious. It’s like that ADA seal of approval on all the toothpaste tubes.

That makes it easy, huh?

Brody and Kekoa’s dental care protocol is as follows:

  • Tooth brushing sometimes, but not every day. I have no reason to lie to you.
  • Greenies (which is on the VOHC list)
  • CET Chews (which are not, but I am still a fan.) Between the brushing, the Greenies and the CET chews, they get some sort of dental attention once a day.
  • Brody occasionally gets a raw bone, but with the kids around I have to be really careful with how and when he gets them. I know those of you who use these regularly are very happy with the results.
  • Dental cleanings yearly (for Brody) and 2-3 times a year for Koa (who arrived with Stage III periodontal disease.)

Apollo is allergic to the ingredients in all the OTC products, so for him, we are limited to the occasional brushing and the regular dental cleanings- which on his wet diet, he certainly needs.

What’s your dental routine with the pets?

P.S. For every re-tweet of this post with the #VOHC tag, Greenies will donate $1 to the wonderful AAHA Helping Pets Fund! So please share away!

Filed: Cats, Dogs, Health Tagged:
  • http://conorbella.wordpress.com Tiffany @ Conor & Bella

    I brush my dog’s teeth everyday, and every other day I use dental wipes. I just got another dog last week, and his teeth are quite bad and need a cleaning. Brushing them would just cause pain and bleeding, so no point until they get cleaned. Occasionally I use the dental wipes on my cat, but it’s difficult to be thorough.

    I wish the VOHC would have a list of toothpastes that they approve (unless I missed it?).

    • http://www.pawcurious.com Dr. V

      The ‘approved’ list is super short, I agree. I hope they are just still in the process of reviewing items since I really do love CET chews.

  • Lisa W

    I’ve heard bad things about Greenies. Maybe it’s only if you have one of those dogs that just immediately gobbles everything, though… Or maybe it’s an urban legend. But I’ve heard that if they aren’t chewed sufficiently they can swell and cause intestinal blockage. My vet carries the CET chews and Oscar heads over to them every single day when we leave day care!

    • http://www.pawcurious.com Dr. V

      The Greenies had some issues in the past, but the new formulation is supposed to have resolved that. Still, none of the chewing dental treats are a good choice for the gulper type dogs.

  • Tonya

    I have had problems with CET chews. Clyde chews them for a while, then he swallows the remaining huge chunk whole, and he starts choking. I wish I could give them to him daily, but I’m just too afraid he will choke to death on one. If anyone has any tips that would help with this problem, I’d love to hear them!

    He chews on Nylabones daily, which does seem to help. And I use a dental gel that you rub on his teeth/gums. I try to use that on my cat too, but sometimes I’m not too successful with her. They get regular dental checkups and cleanings from their vet.

    • http://www.pawcurious.com Dr. V

      Koa does that too. I just have to let her eat them for 5 minutes then take them away, when they are all slimy. :/

      • Tonya

        Never thought of doing that, but I may give it a try. I have a bag of chews at home that will go to waste otherwise.

  • http://coleemmett.blogspot.com Cole

    Henry likes Greenies and Daddy brushes his teeth, but infrequently… He has his first vet cleaning coming up!

  • Kristyn

    We used to do CET chews and other hard chewies, but sadly, Scooby has chronic stomach issues and can’t handle anything outside of his normal formula dog food (Natural Balance LID, btw). So, because I’m not dilligent enough for daily tooth brushings, we rely heavily on toys and yearly dental cleanings. Though maybe in honor of this month I’ll start trying to brush more.

  • Anne

    We have had HUGE success with giving our dogs antlers to chew (get them cheap through pet expertise). we have frenchies and so they choke a lot on many types of chews. They prefer the antlers to the nylabones. Antlers don’t splinter or break into peices they can swallow- they slowly degrade with regular chewing. Our 5 year old has great teeth because of this- the vet is always suprised that we aren’t brushing every day (he hates the paste and brush and so has never had anything other than the antlers). Our 4 year old has some tartar, but again, looks great for her age (she enjoys brushing so we do that occasionally too)

  • Jeanine

    No I don’t brush my dogs teeth, I try but they don’t like it. I have a heavy chewer eater, so I backed away from the greenies,(might try again with the new formula ) I am using CET Veggie chews…she gobbles them down and hasn’t had any ill effects yet. The rawhide type CET”s she throws up, so I don’t give out those.

    • http://www.pawcurious.com Dr. V

      I was wondering if anyone had experience with the veggie chews! I was so happy to see they came out with those!

      • Tonya

        Didn’t know about these, but just checked them out. They look like they could be a better option for my lab who tends to gulp down big pieces of the rawhide CET chews and get choked on them. Going to order some now!

        • Leigh

          My dog is a gulper on the CET chews as well… he LOVES the VeggieDents and I’m not so paranoid now.
          ALSO- we just had a CET seminar at our clinic… they say that all their products are guaranteed to break down in the stomach within 24 hours. So for the gulpers that swallow big pieces, they say it’s very unlikely it would ever cause a blockage. That still doesn’t help the gulpers that choke, though…

          (I love them because my dog would gulp Greenies or Jumbones, and then vomit them (nearly whole) 2 days later. This has never happened with CET items…)

  • http://www.happytrailsandwagntails.com Sirena

    I have tried many times to brush my dogs teeth but he chews on the brush. So now I give him Daily: oral rinse (kind of a pet mouth wash you put in their filtered water) and a tooth gel. He chews his Nylabone and on occasion he gets turkey necks. He always gets compliments on his good breath. I plan to get his teeth cleaned (anesthesia free) soon.

  • Kristina

    Royal Canin special formula for my dog’s breed (shih Tzu). The kibbles are shaped to help keep teeth clean PLUS a Greenie a day, dental every two years. We get gold seals at our dental visits :-) Works for us.

  • http://ezridog.com Caroline

    Brush my dog’s teeth about once a week, but also give Raw bones and Greenies. Since started the RAW diet with the bones too, my pups teeth are SO shiny, shiny white!

  • Tabitha W

    Any tips for brushing for cats? My one boy isnt so keen I only get a few front strokes before he is giving me the “paw of denial”.

  • lin

    Okay, Dr. V., you HAVE to post a video of you brushing Apollo’s teeth (with closeups). I would say this would be along the lines of a public service. Did you start when he was very young? I can brush the dog’s teeth, but I have a hard time even looking at the cat’s teeth. He tosses his head like a horse and then starts to growl. He’s a good kitty and rarely bites, but still…
    So he gets a raw drumstick every now and then, and the pup gets an occasional brush and a bully stick (she sometimes gets a raw bone, but now that she’s older, that can play havoc with her digestive output.) I’ve tried antlers, but Pupper is only interested if they are fairly fresh.

  • Julie

    This is good motivation for me since I do almost nothing for my poor Gilbert’s teeth! His vet has not said he needed dentistry yet and I’ve cosidered taking him to the “Gentle Dental” person who comes by our local dog wash occasionally. I used to give Greenies, but he is a gobbler and threw them up pretty much every time he ate them – good to hear they are re-formulated, so maybe I will try again. Gilbert is not interested in raw bones. I have never tried brushing, so have no idea how he would do with that. I will also try these CET chews as well. Thanks for the kick in the pants!

    • Leigh

      With brushing, you progress in *little* steps. I recommend getting the CET toothbrush and paste, and get either the peanut butter or a meat flavor. For the first few days, just let your dog lick a bit of paste off your finger and give him praise. Then move on to letting him lick a bit of paste off the toothbrush. Give him praise, or even a training treat for this.
      Then you move on in *little* steps. I would recommend getting a treat he LOVES but doesn’t get very often to help you with this…
      Take the toothbrush with paste, touch it to a tooth, give lots of praise, and give a small yummy treat. Once he is used to that and lets you do it without resisting, move on to another tooth, or move the brush back and forth. Repeat and expand… untl you can brush his whole mouth.

      It’s all a matter of small steps and lots of praise, along with habituating him to the brush and to you handling his mouth. If he gets praise and treats while it’s happening, he may even get to the point where he likes brushing time.

  • macula_densa

    This is so timely… Summer just had a dental yesterday. Two incisors were rotten (she has serious malocclusion, so the pulp was exposed on three upper incisors, which were all removed). The surprise was the slab fracture of her second upper left premolar. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised as I’m guilty of using nylabones, but I cannot seem to find any other chew toys that occupy her. =/ Even kongs last all of a few minutes before she’s just bored. I did away with greenies after she managed to gulp one and get it stuck in her throat. I have the same issue with the CET chews.

    Any chew toy suggestions that won’t get stuck in her throat and will last for more than 2 seconds? And that won’t crack her teeth???

    • lin

      Does she like bully sticks? My dog is totally uninterested in chewing something that won’t result in food, and won’t work hard to get everything out of a Kong. She’s a power chewer (when we first got her I gave her a pig leg, thinking she’d gnaw on it for a while — it was gone in 45 minutes) and a foot-long bully will take her about half an hour.
      Your dog also might like elk antlers (you can buy in specialty stores or online). Mine only likes them when they are fresh. They are a bit softer than actual bone, so hopefully won’t hurt her teeth. HTH!

  • rrrrrrrrrebecca

    We’ve tried several times over the years, but my younger cat just chews on the toothbrush or tries to lick the toothpaste off the brush. The old one is 19 and has terrible teeth (rescue), but she’s also too old for the cleaning!

    I’m interested in the CET chews, and I see they make some for cats. Does anyone have any experience with them for cats? Were the cats willing to eat them?

    • Tonya

      I bought a bag for my cat, and she’s a very picky eater. She ate them for about a week and decided she was finished with them. If I recall correctly, they are supposed to be chicken flavored (or have chicken in them). I gave the rest to my son’s cat, and she ate them right up. Obviously, she’s not a picky eater like mine.

      • rrrrrrrrrebecca

        Thanks! I have a feeling mine will either completely ignore them or get tired quickly! I might get a bag anyway to test it, and give it to one of my many cat-owning friends if it doesn’t work out–good idea!

  • Abby’s mom

    I brush my cat’s teeth almost every night. She’s less wild about it than my last cat, who loved the poultry flavor of CET’s paste, but she tolerates the brushing ok. She had gingivitis when I adopted her last year, so she also gets regular dental cleanings (just had one today) and Hill’s T/D for her dry food to keep her teeth and gums in good shape. Hopefully giving her wet food in the evening isn’t counteracting the benefits too much.

  • Heather

    I feed my cats raw chicken necks, nice big chunks of kidney and liver and a fresh beef mince that has a bit of sinew in it. I’ve been doing it since they were kittens. they had a checkup the other week and the vet said they had beautiful, white teeth. I think I’m doing something right.