When you’re brushing your teeth in the morning are you thinking about your pets dental health as well? Having healthy teeth is just as important in dogs and cats as it is in humans! The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is calling Febraury Dental Health Month for Pets! Celebrate by learning a little more on how you can keep your pets teeth clean and healthy!
Why should you care?
If any of you have taken a dog into the vets for a dental cleaning you know that it can rack up a pretty steep bill. If you clean your dogs teeth regularly then it’ll decrease the number of times you’ll have to have the vet do it. Doing it at the vets also requires anesthesia and there are always health risks with this type of procedure, especially as pets get older. Dental health also prevents halitosis (bad breath) and helps keep teeth and gums strong so we can keep eating the things we love to eat!
Also, did you know gum and tooth health can affect heart and kidney health too? So there’s even more of a reason to brush and gives us chews to keep our pearly whites, pearly white!
What Can I Do For My Pet?
When it comes down to it, there’s nothing better than brushing. There are specially formulated tootpastes and toothbrushes that are pet friendly (don’t start putting your toothpaste in our mouths, it can make us ill!). If you don’t want to buy a special dog brush, a kids brush with soft bristles works just fine. Make sure you practice and take baby steps: First, put a bit of toothpaste on your finger and let your dog lick it. After a few sessions like that, try rubbing your dogs gums and teeth. Then slowly graduate to using a finger brush or a tooth brush.
There are also lots of treats you can gives us that will help as well. There are a number of dental chews on the market, such as greenies. Bully sticks and other natural chews can also help “floss” the teeth. There’s also lots of different toys, esepcially rope toys that can help and if you pick up some minty smelling ones, you get the added bonus of fresh breath when we come to lick you for keeping us healthy. 🙂
As usual, if something seems out of the ordinary or you have concerns, contact your vet immediately!
Materials for this article were obtained from the following sources: