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Brushing A Dogs Teeth

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kirsty

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Just wondered how many of you brush your dogs teeth? I was going to start brushing Megans teeth but she was two on October 5th, so maybe I should have done it when I first got her to get her used to it :unsure: If any of you do brush your dogs teeth, do they take to it alright? Surely they must be like us and their teeth will last a lot longer if they get them brushed. I notice Petlondon are selling a meant to be yummy flavoured vanilla toothpaste with what looks like a good doggy toothbrush. I know you can get the poultry/beef flavoured toothpaste in some vets but thought maybe the vanilla might go down better :D
 
I brush my dogs teeth each day. They are both now used to having it done. My first whippet was 13 months old when I got him and had never had his teeth cleaned.

I use Dorwest Herbs toothpaste which I prefer because it does not foam too much or smell too bad. With some of the chicken flavour ones I find the smell of them somewhat overpowering.

If you intend to start teeth cleaning, start slowly and build up bit by bit. That way you will build up confidence. It is also possible to get finger brushes which as the name suggest fit on a finger. Some dogs prefer these at first.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions PM me and I will be happy to answer them if I can.
 
whippetsrus said:
I brush my dogs teeth each day.  They are both now used to having it done.  My first whippet was 13 months old when I got him and had never had his teeth cleaned.
I use Dorwest Herbs toothpaste which I prefer because it does not foam too much or smell too bad.    With some of the chicken flavour ones I find the smell of them somewhat overpowering.

If you intend to start teeth cleaning, start slowly and build up bit by bit.  That way you will build up confidence.  It is also possible to get finger brushes which as the name suggest fit on a finger.  Some dogs prefer these at first.

Hope this helps.  If you have any questions PM me and I will be happy to answer them if I can.

Click to expand...
Thanks for your advice. I think I will have a go (w00t) The Dorwest herb toothpaste sounds good as it does not foam too much, with her having so much hair around her mouth I imagine it won't be an easy task not getting the toothpaste all over her! Did you start with a finger brush and what brush do you recommend?
 
I clean my dogs teeth twice a week with a doggy tooth brush and Arnolds chicken flavour toothpaste which is totally non-foaming.

I also use a descaling tooth and have a good clean with that twice a month.

My ten year old whippet has much cleaner teeth than a friends two year old one so in my humble opinion it's well worth cleaning them.
 
I clean my dogs teeth to and use a paste from the vets. I also put Plaque Off in their food each day and every month give their teeth a gentle scrape with a dental pick thing! They also have plenty of chew - pigs ears, paddy wack and denta stix to help with plaque and gum issues. My dogs love having their teeth cleaned and push to be first in line - they then sit and dribble whilst waiting to have thier done! I also think it is well worth the effort.
 
My elderly greyhound won't let me clean her teeth. She will (just) tolerate the front ones being done, but no way will she let me poke around in the back of her mouth.

Sadly when she came to me as a four year old ex-racer she already had dreadful teeth and bad gum disease, so it's been a constant problem trying to keep them in good condition. Despite regular bones and chews she's needed three dentals under anaesthetic over the last nine years.

My other dogs are fine with having their teeth cleaned, so I'm determined to make sure they don't have the same problems as Molly as they get older. It's awful having to put elderly dogs through anaesthetic, definitely worth the effort to keep them in good condition right from youngsters.

Emily - I'm interested to see you use 'Plaque Off', Ive been looking at that recently but have heard mixed reports on whether it makes any difference. Does anyone else use it and have you found a benefit?
 
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Thanks for your advice. I think I will have a go (w00t) The Dorwest herb toothpaste sounds good as it does not foam too much, with her having so much hair around her mouth I imagine it won't be an easy task not getting the toothpaste all over her! Did you start with a finger brush and what brush do you recommend?






Hi,

 

With my two year old I started with a finger brush when he was a pup and gradually progressed to a normal dog tooth brush. This has a normal sized brush at one end and a smaller version at the other. These are all available at pet shops such as Pets at Home. Also some vets sell them.

 

I know some people use bones to keep their dogs teeth clean. I do from time to time offer these myself but neither seem to be great chewers and according to the hygenist at our vets this will not get around the gumline.

 

I am sure that there are people more experienced on this board on the value of bones if you wish to go in that direction who would happily offer advice.

Also I am sure that there may be information of interest in the FAQ section.

 

Hope this is of help.
 
I was also looking into using plaque off but have been recommended not to use as one of my boys has a thyroid problem. Is there anything else out there that does a similar job???
 
I'm a hygienist & I always advise people at puppy class to brush their dogs teeth. They're like humans some have brilliant teeth & gums & others are very prone to gum disease. I don't like the dog brushes. I much prefer to use a soft human brush (not a childs as the handle is too short) & a dog toothpaste. More often than not though I just run the brush under warm water to soften it & don't bother with paste but I would say the dogs seem to prefer toothpaste. If your dogs gums bleed when you first brush them, don't worry but continue to clean them & in 2 or 3 days you shouldn't notice any bleeding.

I'm very dubious about plaque off. I really can't see that it would make a lot of difference. Once the plaque is on the teeth you can only remove it by mechanical means, hard foods or a brush. Once hardened it needs a scaler to remove it, an expensive trip to the vet. Mine love raw vegetables as treats. Watch some of the dog treats as they are filled with sugar which if fed often enough wll result in decay.

Happy brushing :D
 
Mine also love raw veg - especially carrots and also apples so this also helps keep their teech clean. As regards to the Plaque off, I started using it after reading about it on another thread on here - I must admit that I am not convinced of the results from using it - I think manual cleaning with toothpaste and good brush is the best way to go!
 
I tried the plaque off with Inca, her teeth wasn't that bad but I thought it might help with the bit she had...it did absolutly nothing for her. :(

I think its a bit of a con really :- "
 
hellybobs said:
I tried the plaque off with Inca, her teeth wasn't that bad but I thought it might help with the bit she had...it did absolutly nothing for her. :(
I think its a bit of a con really  :- "

Click to expand...
I had the same negative result when I tried it too :wacko:
 
Thanks for all the replys everyone :) It does sound a good path to go down.

I will go and get her a tooth brush and paste over the weekend. I know what it is like to suffer from sore teeth and gums and I hate the dentist I am petrified every time I have to go. It must be a shame for animals if they have sore gums and teeth as they can't tell us :( If there is a way to prevent it in any way it's a bonus.

Thanks again :thumbsup:
 
I brush the dogs teeth every two days Dorwest toothpaste & they all have very clean white teeth, including Amber my ESS who will be 14 in January :thumbsup:
 
I don't brush my 10's teeth, but I do give them raw chicken wings most days and I crush 3 brewers yeast tabs on their tea daily as the enzymes work wonders at breaking down the plaque :D .......Put it this way my 11 1/2 year old girl has NEVER had her teeth brushed, but my vets say her teeth are fab :D
 
Jiminy, Plaque off by Pro dent is supposodely a plaque inhibitor. When I seen their stand at Blackpool champ show a few years back I asked them for all the paperwork about how it works. TBH I haven't read through it yet, but they told me that the ingrediants alter the composition of saliva and prevent plaque calcification. I work in Maxillo - Facial and they informed me that they have a human equivalent that is being given to orthognathic patients. We stick with Chlorohexidine Gluconate (Corsodyl) though.

Got a medline doc with a few links on the right to additional papers

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.f...earch&DB=pubmed

At a quick glance I'd say it's pretty much comparable to Chlorohexidine Gluconate mouthrinses but it's in a powdered form for dogs.

Now then my own experience of it (or rather my dogs) My whip suffered severe gingival inflammation during pregnancy which left her with gingival pocketing. As you would agree nothing beats mechanical cleaning so I managed to keep things relatively under control for the first year with interdental brushes. Anyway I came across Plaque off and started adding this to her food. Buffy did get a marked reduction in plaque formation however the staining was significant so I had to brush her teeth just as frequently. 3 years later and she has to have 5 teeth removed last month, I and the vet suspected she had an abscess on one and the others - all related to the gingival pocketing I had removed so as to prevent the future need for another anaesthetic. (Roots were also visible and slight mobility)

Looking back I suppose it's feasible that the plaque off 'bought' her a little time but personally I think nothing beats physically removing plaque whether it be brushing or eating bones. For these reasons I'd say it probably has it's uses in certain situations but in my opinion it should be only considered as a last chance option where other methods cannot be used and bear in mind you may not stand to gain much from it's use.
 
Hello Wild Whippie

I too work in a Maxillofacial unit.

This is the info from plaque off

How does it work ?

"Unlike other methods of plaque control ProDen PlaqueOff™ Animal works systemically i.e. through the blood stream. It is thought to affect the ability of plaque to ‘stick’ to surfaces in the mouth and softens hard tartar deposits. Improvements should start to be seen between 3 and 8 weeks. "

This is how Corodyl works

"PHARMACOLOGICAL ACTION:

Chlorhexidine is a bactericidal cationic antiseptic. It acts by destroying the cell membrane and precipitating the cell cytoplasm. It has been shown that chlorhexidine binds on to the hydroxyapatite of tooth enamel, on to the pellicle of the tooth surface and on to salivary mucins. It slowly desorbs from these sites to exert a prolonged bactericidal effect for several hours."

Until I see some proper clinical trials on plaque off I still am not convinced on it's use.

Best wishes Issy
 
Cheers for that Jiminy. I was unaware it was working systemically I thought the granule formation mixed with food was so the agent covered a greater surface area, which makes me wonder why it isn't in a tablet form unless of course it's being absorbed through the mucosa? I'll have to dig out that paperwork! :wacko:

I agree some clinical trials would be most welcome reading - I don't remember seeing anything amongst the stuff they gave me.
 
[quote name=whippetsrus

It is also possible to get finger brushes which as the name suggest fit on a finger. Some dogs prefer these at first.

Anyone tell me where i can get these finger brushes from' date=' saffi is not too keen to let me clean his teeth so maybe these are the answer

many thanks :))

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