by Cate Burnette, RVT

As your pet ages, she becomes more susceptible to the chronic diseases that can make her senior years painful and unhappy. Her heart, kidneys, and liver are more sensitive to the effects of the bacteria in her body that causes dental disease. Keeping her teeth clean and her mouth free from periodontitis can extend her life.

Veterinarians estimate that between 75 and 80% of middle-aged dogs have gum disease, and a new study out of Purdue University shows a clear link between gum disease and heart disease in canines. In the study, dogs with no periodontal disease were diagnosed with endocarditis, an inflammation of the heart valves, in 1% of the cases. Those dogs with chronic periodontal disease were diagnosed with endocarditis   in 15% of the cases.

Researchers believe that the bacterium causing the gum disease is the culprit behind the heart disease. Mouth tissue – the gums and the other soft areas of the mouth – are rich with blood vessels, and this hastens the speed at which bacteria can enter your dog’s bloodstream and travel throughout her body.

In periodontal disease, the surface of the gums is weakened and compromised. That breakdown of gum tissue allows the bacteria in your dog’s mouth to go directly into the blood coursing through the rest of her organs. The Purdue study indicates the same strain of oral bacteria causing gum disease infects the heart valves and results in endocarditis.

Certain strains of oral bacteria leave behind sticky proteins that can adhere to the walls of your dog’s arteries. As that protein builds up, the arteries thicken and this narrowing of the blood passageway is closely associated with heart disease. Bacteria are also known to cause the formation of blood clots that can damage the heart and lead to heart failure and stroke.

Not surprisingly, those same bacteria can infect your dog’s kidneys and liver, leading to chronic disease and eventual organ failure.

The best preventive measures to ease your pooch into her senior years without organ disease revolve around regular, at-home dental brushings and annual oral examinations with possible prophylactic tooth cleanings by your veterinarian.

You can go to your vet clinic, your local pet stores, and online retailers to purchase doggy toothpaste and a toothbrush for daily brushings. The toothbrushes are manufactured to fit in your dog’s mouth comfortably and the toothpastes come in flavors that she will love – all to make it easier for you to perform this daily chore with little to no hassle.

Additionally, for those times when you don’t have her toothbrush/toothpaste handy, all-natural dental wipes that can keep the teeth clean and the breath fresh are available for use. You could also try a probiotic anti-plaque spray that goes directly onto her teeth and gums to reduce the bacteria causing gum disease and infections. All-natural fresh breath foams take just a squirt after mealtime to check the growth of microbes and stem bad breath.

Perhaps one of the easiest ways to help prevent periodontal disease in your pup is also one of the newest on the market. Organic, oral care water additives make it easy to loosen plaque build-up and freshen her breath and while she drinks from her water bowl. Just a few drops a day added to her regular drinking water are all that is needed to help her stay gum disease free.

by Cate Burnette RVT

We’ve all heard that old adage “Prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That could NOT be truer than when it comes to keeping your dog’s teeth and gums free of disease through annual veterinary cleanings. Often, that “pound” becomes a large amount of British Sterling “pounds,” Dollars, Euros, Pesos, or whatever monetary unit your home country designates.

In 2011, Neena Pelligrini, a reporter for the Seattle Times newspaper, received an estimate from her vet’s office for a prophylactic cleaning of her dog’s teeth for an article she was writing on veterinary costs.

According to the article, “It appears to be a standard itemized estimate that ranges from $500 to $900. The cleaning itself is $99. Add $33 for X-rays, $11 for polishing and $21 for sealing. There are separate charges for pre-anesthesia, induction, monitoring and the general anesthesia itself. This adds $120 to the estimate. What’s left? Drugs before, during and after the procedure, hospitalization fees, etc. The bill could jump by hundreds, even thousands, if you add extractions, fillings or even root canals. Is all of this really necessary?”

Her article went on to say that most veterinarians charge individual costs for a pre-anesthetic physical exam and bloodwork, dental x-rays, an oral exam, anesthesia, a complete dental cleaning, any type of oral surgery – including extractions, and all medications. The more detailed procedures, including those with extended periods under anesthesia and those with numerous tooth extractions, were more expensive.

If the dog has advanced periodontal diseases, deep scaling and even surgery might be required. Early stage disease may require only a thorough cleaning, but late-stage surgery or extractions can cost $1,000or more.

Costs also depend on where you live. Veterinary cleanings are typically more expensive in large, urban cities than in smaller cities or rural areas.

Most veterinarians will tell you the best way to cut costs is to brush your pet’s teeth daily at home so that plaque and tartar don’t build up and periodontal disease is kept at bay.

Veterinary clinics, pet supply stores, and online shops sell doggy sized toothbrushes that cost very little money. Many vets and retailers often combine doggy toothpaste and a toothbrush into a combo pack that allows you additional savings.

If brushing regularly is not an option, other substitutes for dental hygiene are available. Alternative cleaning solutions include dental wipes that can keep the teeth clean and the breath fresh, and a probiotic anti-plaque spray that reduces the bacteria causing plaque, bad breath, gum disease, and infections.

Oral care water additives make it easy to freshen your dog’s breath and loosen plaque build-up while she drinks from her water bowl, and are a relatively new innovation to at-home dental care. All-natural fresh breath foams also make it easy to keep your pet’s teeth clean at home. Just a squirt after mealtime daily inhibits the growth of microbes that cause periodontal disease.

According to pet insurance companies, these at-home products typically cost between $30 and $60 per year, but they can save you thousands of dollars on veterinary dental bills.

More than half of dog owners NEVER brush their dog’s teeth! But as pet parents, we all know we should be taking regular care of our pet’s teeth. Not only can daily brushing save us money and time on clinic visits, but keeping your dog’s teeth as clean as possible helps prevent oral bacteria from traveling to the heart and kidneys and causing disease in those organs.  Do you brush your dog’s teeth? Take this 7 second survey and let us know (be honest please!) http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GRBKHFX

But what can you do if your dog resists her regular brushings? Is there a way to make this chore easier for both of you?

The answer is YES…and we’ve given you some tips on doggy tooth brushing that can help both you and your pooch de-stress during this daily ritual.

Tip #1 – Acclimate your dog to having her mouth handled. This procedure can be used if your pet doesn’t like having her lips or mouth examined, and as training for any new dog in your house. Additionally, we highly recommend using this technique as a teaching tool for puppies.

When your dog is totally relaxed and cuddling with you, softly reach down and gently run your finger under her lips and over her gums, all around the outside of her teeth. If she initially resists, back off, let her relax a bit, and try again. Practice this exercise consistently every time you are snuggling together until she no longer backs away from your touch.

Tip #2– Even though a daily home brushing is ideal, we all know the reality is that most dog’s hate getting their teeth brushed  and there are going to be times when you’re either out of hours or out of patience. So right from the beginning start using oral rinses and water additives which can provide the dental care needed to keep your dog’s teeth in good shape.

All-natural water additives poured directly into your dog’s bowl can loosen plaque build-up and freshen her breath whenever she takes a drink. Made with fatty acid salts that inhibit the growth of bacteria and mold, and baking soda to fight bad breath and remove plaque and food particles, water additives are an easy way to help your pet’s oral hygiene.

Foams and rinses are another alternative to brushing when life gets too busy. Compounded from the same all-natural ingredients as organic water additives, this new type of oral foam deodorizes your pup’s breath while fighting plaque and bacteria, all without alcohol or harsh chemicals.

Tip #3 – Introduce the toothbrush. Once she is consistently relaxed, you can introduce her toothbrush into this training. Make sure you have either a regular doggy toothbrush small enough to fit comfortably between your pet’s lips and gums, or one of the soft brushes that fit over your finger and slide easily into the proper position.

Use the same technique you tried when introducing your dog to having her mouth examined, substitute her toothbrush for your finger. Make sure she is relaxed when you begin working with the brush, and keep practicing over time until she is totally calm and stress-free each time you put the brush against her teeth.

Tip #4 – Bring on the toothpaste. Now that your pooch is acclimated to having your fingers and her toothbrush in her mouth, you can familiarize her with her toothpaste. Most canine toothpastes are formulated with either a beef or chicken flavoring that makes the paste more palatable for your dog, and she is less likely to resist or spit it out if you choose the kind of flavor she likes. If those flavors don’t work for her, try an all-natural, vanilla-flavored toothpaste to help satisfy even the pickiest dog.

Initially, try placing just a small amount of the toothpaste on your pup’s gums or lips so that she has to lick it off and taste it. Once she realizes that she likes the taste, she is less likely to be resistant to your brushing with it.

Using the same consistently gentle technique as before, you’re now ready to really brush your pet’s teeth in earnest. Using your soft canine brush and toothpaste, let the friction of small, circular motions remove any plaque or food particles found on the outside of the teeth on both the upper and lower jaw. You don’t need to open your pup’s mouth and brush the insides of the teeth; saliva and the action of the tongue tends to dispense with anything left behind in that part of the mouth. There is also no need to rinse her mouth after brushing. Canine toothpastes are made to be swallowed, without all the harsh chemicals found in human toothpastes.

Please remember: NEVER use human toothpaste, mouthwash, or dental rinses to clean your dog’s teeth. Many of the products we use in our human mouths contain harsh chemicals and alcohol that can be toxic to your pooch.

by Cate Burnette, RVT

With Pet Dental Health Month just ending, many pet owners are probably wondering just what exactly they need to do to keep their dog’s teeth and gums healthy from one yearly veterinary cleaning to the next. Traditionally, vets have suggested regular, at-home brushing to help prevent plaque and calculus, reduce the chance of infection, and keep your pooch’s breath fresh. With the advent of new water additives and at-home oral rinses in the pet marketplace, we wanted to take a look at some of those products and see what ingredients are in them, and if they are as effective as the friction caused brushing.

What are water additives and how do they work?

Water additives and at-home dental rinses are a relatively new development in pet dental health. Marketed to veterinarians and pet parents as a tool to prevent dental problems in dogs, the additives are supposed to be dropped into your dog’s drinking water on a daily basis and are billed as a safe, healthy alternative to regular tooth brushing. Dental rinses are essentially the same product formulated into a liquid gel that can be squirted on the teeth after meal times.

Several of the additives say that the chemical ingredients used to manufacture them break down the carbohydrate molecules that help to form the plaque on your dog’s teeth. Other additives claim they use particular chemicals and natural ingredients to reduce bad breath, kill microbes, and prevent calculus. However, using a water additive is similar to us using a mouth wash. It’s a nice addition to our dental routine, but we certainly wouldn’t replace brushing with mouth wash. The same goes for our canine companions. Nothing is going to be as efficient as the friction on the tooth from the brush.

What are some of the ingredients in water additives?

Ingredients in water additives include such organics as a mixture of mutanase and dextranase enzymes to break down filmy plaque on teeth, zinc gluconate, a mineral zinc salt used as an anti-bacterial agent, cetylpyridinium chloride, a chemical antiseptic found in some pesticides, and chlorhexidine gluconate, another chemical antiseptic.

The use of chlorhexidine gluconate in at-home dental rinses is particularly troubling to some veterinarians because the chemical is contraindicated for use near the eyes, ears, and mouth of animal patients, yet the manufacturers of products containing this chemical offer it as an alternative to regular in-home brushing. The most common side effects associated with chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinses include an actual increase in calculus formation, stomatitis (an inflammation of the mucosal lining of the mouth and gums), and an inflammation of the salivary glands.

Additionally, products containing chlorhexidine have been associated with a high incidence of deafness in cats and thus are not recommended for felines or internal use in humans.

Some products also contain xylitol, a canine antibiotic known to cause stomach upset in some dogs.

Does home brushing still work?

Most veterinarians still recommend daily tooth brushing to help prevent dental disease in your pet, even if you choose to use a water additive or oral rinse. Even the manufacturers of these products suggest that daily brushing is essential for good oral hygiene and that their additives and rinses be used in conjunction with regular vet checkups and at-home brushing.

For those pet parents that want that something extra to help keep doggy breath fresh and teeth clean and white, there are all-natural, organic dental wipes and probiotic sprays on the market that reduce plaque and tartar, freshen breath, and use human grade ingredients safe for people, puppies, and other pets. Additionally, all-natural toothpastes combined with a special doggy brush allow you to reach all the surfaces of your dog’s teeth while disinfecting the whole mouth. These toothpastes are also formulated with human grade ingredients making them safe for your dog’s digestive system.

For those pet parents wanting to keep chemicals and additives away from their sensitive pups, brushing with a naturalc paste still seems the best way to prevent canine dental disease.