© Reddogs / stock.adobe.com
Healthy dog teeth are not only important for eating, but also playing.
Dogs love discovering the world with their mouth. Hence, it’s very important that you take care of your dog’s teeth properly. Find out more here about the right dental care for your dog.
There are many independent studies that have investigated the onset of gum diseases in dogs. Theses studies show that the gums of around four of five dogs already show pathological changes after more than three years. The majority of older dogs therefore have severe gum problems.
Dogs don’t just use their teeth to chew food, but also to lift and move objects. Hence, your dog’s teeth are just as important to it as your hands are to you. Regular dental care is essential with dogs because they do so much with their teeth.
When your dog eats, it consumes a huge amount of bacteria in its food. Over time, these bacteria accumulate in the area between the teeth close to the gums in particular, where food components that germs like to feed on linger after eating.
Together with the leftover food, the germs gradually form a sticky white layer, which is also known as plaque or tartar. If this isn’t removed, yellow-brown tartar forms. These hard deposits attack the gums and surrounding tissue so severely that they become inflamed. Caries form if the bacteria that the deposits contain attack the tooth enamel.
© Katja / stock.adobe.com
You shouldn’t take dental care for dogs lightly. If you don’t clean your dog’s teeth, it could fall ill and develop severe infections in its mouth. It is particularly common for affected dogs to show the following signs:
Gum inflammation (gingivitis) for dogs due to plaque or tartar is very painful for dogs. Such inflammations can spread widely amongst the gums, causing them to become detached and damaging the periodontium.
If your dog has toothache, this can have an impact on its eating habits. It may not want to eat at all or may chew its food more cautiously. If the germs penetrate into deeper tissue and cause an abscess, this can also make chewing difficult.
Volatile sulphur compounds (VSCs) form by bacteria in plaque or tartar breaking down leftover food. They are known for having a very unpleasant smell and causing bad breath in dogs.
If the bacteria manage to reach your dog’s bloodstream, it can lead to infections in other organs. It’s not uncommon for heart valve inflammation (endocarditis) or kidney inflammation (nephritis) to be associated with dental problems. In the worst case, it can also lead to blood poisoning (sepsis), which can prove fatal for your dog.
© ThamKC / stock.adobe.com
The more often you clean your dog’s teeth, the less tartar forms. This means that daily teeth cleaning is the best prerequisite for healthy canine teeth.
For healthy teeth, you should combine the following dog dental care measures:
Regularly clean your dog’s teeth with a dog toothbrush in order to easily remove large chunks of leftover food between the teeth. Special dog toothpaste helps to tackle unpleasant bad breath and make brushing your dog’s teeth a more bearable experience. Your dog can get used to having its teeth cleaned if you give it a reward afterwards.
You can also find suitable dental care products for dogs in the zooplus online store.
According to studies, just one DentaStix™ per day is sufficient to prevent tartar in dogs. The special x-shape allows DentaStix™ to even reach places that are difficult to access and may not be reachable with a toothbrush. This means up to 80% less tartar forms. The chew sticks are free of sugar, artificial colourings and aromas and are also fat-free. Hence, you can give them to your dog without having to deduct a large amount of calories from its normal food portion.
Despite sufficient dental care, a dog can still have a tendency to develop a lot of tartar. If this is the case with your dog, you should get it regularly seen to by a vet along with its routine dental care.
At the Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen I was extensively trained as a veterinarian and was able to gain experience in various fields such as small animal, large animal and exotic animal medicine as well as pharmacology, pathology and food hygiene. Since then, I have been working not only as a veterinary author, but also on my scientifically driven dissertation. My goal is to better protect animals from pathogenic bacterial organisms in the future. Besides my veterinary knowledge, I also share my own experiences as a happy dog owner and can thus understand and enlighten fears and problems as well as other important questions about animal health.
Does your dog have digestion problems? Prebiotics or probiotics may be the solution. We will explain how these substances can support your dog's intestinal health and what you should pay attention to when administering them.
If a dog regularly scratches itself, we initially think parasites are the cause. However, there are further reasons for itchiness, such as allergies. Even dogs are affected by allergies and the number of allergic illnesses is increasing.
Although the heat period is an entirely natural process for female dogs, irritation at stains on the new carpet, fear of an unwanted pregnancy or their pet's strange behaviour can cause many dog owners to worry. Find out here everything you need to know about your female dog's heat period and how you can both overcome this without any stress.
