In veterinary medicine, good information about proper dental care has been hard to come by in the past. Veterinary dentistry as a specialty is a relatively recent phenomenon – when I was in vet school in the early 90’s, there was no dental specialist on staff to teach students the fundamentals of dental anatomy, physiology, pathology, and treatment. I remember getting maybe two whole periods of lectures on dentistry when I was in school – not enough time to even scratch the surface of what veterinarians need to know. Luckily, vet schools are getting better and better, and this relatively new discipline is getting more of the attention that it deserves.
As a result, veterinarians have had to do a lot of continuing education to learn about dental problems, and how to properly deal with them. More and more veterinary clinics now have a dental Xray machine, which is an invaluable (and indispensable, in my opinion) tool that we can use to diagnose and properly treat dental disease in dogs and cats. Dental specialists are now often a short drive away, and can provide more advanced dental services such as orthodontic treatment and root canals. Most importantly, however, veterinarians are learning the importance of good dental care and hygiene, and are doing a much better job at educating our clients about these important issues.
Dental disease is one of the most common problems that veterinarians see in everyday practice. According to the American Veterinary Dental Society, 80% of dogs show signs of dental disease by the time they are three years old. Bad breath, red and swollen gums, yellow or brown tartar buildup on teeth, broken or worn teeth, or masses/swellings of the gums are all dental problems that need to be addressed – before they cause, permanent, irreversible damage.
Most people do not realize that their pet may be in a great deal of discomfort due to chronic dental disease. Over thousand of years of evolution, our pets have learned to "keep their mouths shut" when it comes to expressing chronic pain – in the wild, an animal that is obviously ill or hurting would likely be a target for predators, or would be taken advantage of by members of it's own pack. For these reasons, our pets are very stoic when it comes to dental pain. They do have the same anatomy and physiology as humans, however, and we know that the equivalent problems in people can cause a tremendous amount of pain.
Through regular dental cleanings and homecare, we can avoid these problems in our pets before it is too late. In the past, veterinarians too often have waited until the teeth have become significantly diseased before recommending a "cleaning", but by this time, irreversible damage has been done. Our goal is to prevent these problems from ever happening through good, regular dental care.
Keeping our dogs’ teeth healthy is a joint effort between you and your veterinarian. At every physical examination, your veterinarian will assess your pet’s teeth, and make recommendations based on the amount of dental disease present. Professional dental cleanings are a very important part of a good, dental health program. In future articles, I will discuss what these cleanings entail, along with various dental problems that can occur in dogs. In this article, we will talk about THE most important thing that we can do to prevent dental problems from every occurring, and that is dental home care.
Home care needs to start when you first get your little puppy. Often, people think that brushing a dog’s teeth is an impossible task, but it needn’t be so. Just as dogs can be trained to sit, stay or come, they can be trained to allow you to brush their teeth – and actually learn to enjoy it. New puppies should have their lips and gums handled regularly, and should be rewarded with praise and treats for good behaviour. This will make your job much easier when you start to try brushing their teeth later on.
To begin, we want to use a veterinary toothpaste, which come in yummy flavours like beef or chicken that your dog will love. Our goal is not to do a great job brushing right off the bat – we want to very, very slowly introduce the brushing process, starting for very short periods of time, and gradually increasing the amount of time spent cleaning as your dog gets used to the whole idea. At first, you can just lift the lip and place the toothbrush with the paste on the tooth – that’s it. Make sure you have your dog’s favourite treat in your hand ready to go, and if he or she has been good, and lets you do this without a fuss, then immediately give the treat with lots of praise and attention. If there was any fuss or struggling, then do not reward, and try again later (maybe doing even a little less next time). Practice this many times a day, every day. By rewarding appropriate, quiet behaviour and ignoring bad behaviour, your pet will soon learn to sit still and let you do what you need to do. As your pet gets good at sitting still, start to do a little more – first brush one tooth for a few seconds, and reward if good. Then brush a couple teeth. Then brush a few…. You get the point. If all goes well, within a short time, your dog will come running and wagging whenever he or she hears that toothbrush come out!
Once you can do a good job and really get in there and scrub, brushing needs to be maintained once a day. Plaque, which accumulates on teeth, can be easily gotten rid of by brushing. However, if left in place for only a few days, plaque mineralizes and becomes tartar. At this point, brushing will no longer remove it – only a professional dental cleaning will. It is therefore imperative to maintain a regular, daily routine to really prevent the progression of dental problems.
Although brushing a dog’s teeth is the very best thing you can do for homecare, there are other options available as well. Various dental diets exist that have a very beneficial effect at preventing plaque and tartar buildup. Regular dry food, contrary to popular opinion, actually does very little to help the teeth – when the kibble is bit into, it shatters, and does not really scrape the surface of the tooth. Dental diets are designed so that the kibble (which is much larger than regular kibble) needs to be continually chewed through to break it apart into smaller bits, doing a much better job at scraping the plaque off the teeth. Ask your veterinarian about what dental diets are available, and if one of them might be suitable for your dog.
Many different dental treats exist that are purported to have a beneficial effect at preventing dental problems. Unfortunately, not all of these products work the same, and your veterinarian can help you to find which products have been actually tested and shown to help. Various other products, such as additives that can be put in the drinking water can help as well. They are obviously not as beneficial as brushing, but if used in combination with other home care options, they can be part of a good dental maintenance program.
For more information on dental homecare, you can visit Dr. Gignac’s website by clicking on the following link: http://www.yorkvilleanimalhospital.ca/index.php?view=pageView&pageid=214
