Guide to Home Care for Dental Health

Home care of your pet’s teeth and gums is an essential part of keeping your pet healthy. Gum and periodontal disease cause bad breath and provide an access port for bacteria to enter your pet’s blood stream. Infections in the heart, kidneys, and lungs are often the result of poor dental health. We would like to give you some suggestions for home dental care for pets.

• BRUSHING TEETH – We recommend brushing your pet’s teeth daily or at least 3 times a week. Brushing is the ideal method to prevent plaque and tartar build up on your pet’s teeth. Be certain to use toothpaste specially designed for animals. Your pet will prefer the taste, and also it will not be harmful for your pet to swallow.

• ORAVET – This is a barrier gel that is applied once a week to the outside surface of the teeth along the gum line on both the top and bottom arcades. Oravet helps prevent plaque and bacteria from attaching to the teeth. For owners that cannot brush their pet’s teeth, this once weekly treatment will still be helpful in maintaining oral health. If you can brush, combining Oravet with a consistent teeth brushing program will give you an even better result.

• DENTAL DIETS – Daily feeding of a food designed for tartar control (e.g. Hill’s t/d or Oral Care) provides a “brushing” action as your pet crunches through the food. These foods are designed to provide many “scrubbing” surfaces which act to brush the teeth as your pet eats.

• DENTAL CHEWS AND TREATS – Daily administration of dental chews and treats (e.g. CET chews) helps prevent plaque and tartar build up. As your pet chews these products, the abrasive action against the teeth provides a scrubbing action to keep the tooth surfaces clean.

These are a few steps you can take at home to help keep your pet’s teeth clean and help protect your pet’s overall health. Our staff would be happy to demonstrate any of the above steps or answer any questions you have about home dental health care. When tartar and plaque build up, we recommend a professional dental cleaning which can be performed in our office during a daytime stay. To schedule a dental cleaning, please telephone our office at 610-873-4091.