Today’s Topic: Brushing your Pet’s Teeth – What to use, When to use and how often.

• Brushing your pet’s teeth can be helpful in preventing the build-up of plaque and tartar. It is important to
  brush your pet’s teeth every day – plaque turns to tartar in about 24-48 hours – so a hit and miss routine is
  not going to work! AND when your groomer says they will brush your pet’s teeth for you ‘don’t be fooled’
  as this single brushing is really having no real benefit for your fur baby. Daily tooth brushing is “The Gold
  Standard” and even then just like us human we still need to go to the dentist for a thorough and proper
  dental cleaning regularly!!
• There are numerous styles of pet toothbrushes and many flavors of toothpaste available for use on your
  pet’s teeth. At Middle Sackville Veterinary Care Centre we often have some of the following flavors of
  toothpaste: poultry, beef/malt and/or mint. Finding a product that tastes good to your pet will help make
  the experience more enjoyable for them.
• There are toothbrushes for cats and toothbrushes for dogs. We often have multiple styles and can surely find
  one that will work for your fur baby. For some cats or very small dogs, I will often recommend starting by using
  a Q-tip as they are easy to use, soft yet just enough fiber in the cotton tip to help remove plaque. Until you
  get better and your pet more cooperative then it can be a great starting point. Let’s make it simple to
  start!
• Most important to remembers that human toothpaste should never be used in cats and dogs because they
  contain ingredients that are not intended to be swallowed. Even using just baking soda can be harmful to
  many pets as the sodium content is just too high – remember they will swallow most of whatever type of
  ‘toothpaste’ you use.
• Technique for toothbrushing is very important! Don’t expect to have your pet ‘love’ the procedure at the
  start. Make toothbrushing fit into your daily routine. Start small and with time get more specific about the
  procedure. For the first few weeks just get the brush into the mouth and move it about along the upper
  teeth a few strokes each side then reward your pet with a favorite small treat and lots of praise. Perform
  this routine daily and after a few weeks get a bit more thorough with the procedure. In 1-2 months you will
  surely be doing a lot better. Take time to perfect your toothbrushing routine. Remember if you can do a
  good job of brushing the outer aspects of all or most teeth then you are doing great.
• A big mistake many pet parents make is trying to pry open the mouth and jab around with the toothbrush.
  Actually, I recommend to just lift the lip on one side, slide the brush into the pocket between lip and teeth
  and brush back and forth. As your pet accepts the procedure then you can look and be specific to really
  brush certain teeth that maybe your veterinarian has said to be concentrating on.
• Has your groomer or other pet care person said they will clean your pet’s teeth? Again don’t be fooled – if
  they are using hand dental tools they could actually be causing serious damage to the surfaces of your pet’s
  teeth that could, in fact, accelerate dental disease – leave the real cleaning to your veterinary dentist!!

dvhadmin | Blog Post, Pet Care, Pet Dental Health Month