Dental Disease-What the STINK is all about -PART 2

Product:

I usually recommend several things when it comes to products.  Brushing is by far the very best thing you can do.  I encourage everyone to try, and to start slow.  I bet your mom didn't get you to completely brush all your teeth in one day...  Even with the best intentions there are going to be those pets that are absolutely not going to allow teeth brushing.  I have some suggestions for those pets as well.

When it comes to brushing I recommend only using a pet toothpaste, in a flavor the pet likes(chicken, beef, etc).  Human toothpastes contain alot of fluoride and can be toxic to pets.  I would start with just letting your pet eat some toothpaste.  My dogs love the CET poultry, they actually ate a whole tube once!  Luckily, they didn't actually eat the 'tube' just all the toothpaste!  I like the CET brand by Virbac because it's 'Enzymatic', which means, and I quote: "Dual-Enzyme System activated by saliva to produce Hypothiocyanite ions which eliminates plaque-forming bacteria."  Sooooo, even if you have trouble brushing, the toothpaste in the mouth helps eliminate bacteria.

There are several chews I like.  CET makes numerous chews, some are enzymatic and some have an antiseptic called chlorhexidine.  They have a great cat chew-treat as well.  All my cats really like it and they actually have to chew it, instead of just swallowing.  Greenies are great, they act like a 'Squeegee', like you would use on your windshield.  The only draw back with Greenies is they are pretty high in calories.  When you pick out a chew make sure you pick a size appropriate chew.  For example: Don't get a small chew for a Labrador and a grande for the toy poodle.  If the chew gets small enough to swallow take it away to prevent choking.

Treats have come a long way in the last few years.  Science Diet now has an Oral Care Treat, that helps 'scratch' away the tartar when crunched.  It comes in several different sizes which is great.  There are several other treats, that are aimed at making the breath fresh, kinda like a breath mint.  Any crunchy treat is going to be better than a jerky or soft treat.  Those soft treats are just going to 'gum-up' on the teeth. 

The last few things can be done daily to help with dental disease.  There are special foods that can help prevent dental disease.  There are veterinary diets like Science Diet T/D and Purina DH.  I have also seen 'similar' over the counter formula's.  Breathalyser is a daily water additive.  It helps decrease plaque formation and improve stinky breath(halitosis).

I always tell people; find something you and your pet can do on a fairly regular basis and stick to it.  Then get them in once a year to have your vet evaluate the teeth and perform a dental if needed.  This should help your pet have it's teeth for many years to come.

Stay tuned for Part 3, it is going to be about how dental disease affects you pets overall health.

Here is CET's website, has a pretty entertaining video on how to brush your pets teeth:
http://www.virbacvet.com/cet/