Why is my pet’s dental health important?
There are a lot of good reasons to ensure your pet’s teeth and mouth are kept in good condition, but they boil down to one simple fact – good dental health is crucial for good overall health, and for helping your pet to live a long, happy and healthy life.
It can be hard to notice problems at home as cats and dogs will eat through a dramatic amount of pain due to their survival instinct.
They could be in a huge amount of discomfort without you knowing it.
That’s why it is so important that you regularly visit your practice and allow our vets and nurses to keep an eye on your pet’s dental health.
Dental health problems start with plaque, which is caused by a build of bacteria and forms a soft coating on the teeth. This can irritate gums and cause inflammation of the gums, which we call gingivitis.
Gingivitis can cause the gums to recede. If left on the tooth, soft plaque can become tartar, which is firm and is the first sign that people see of potential dental issues.
As the gums recede the bacteria can get to the periodontal ligaments which hold the teeth in the sockets, which is called periodontal disease. If this happens the ligament can weaken, and cause bone loss resulting issues like root abscess and tooth losses
The other problem is that it isn’t just the effect on the mouth that we are monitoring.
Plaque and bacteria in the mouth not only cause bad breath but also produce toxins, and the gums are incredibly absorptive.
That means that all of that nastiness is being absorbed into the bloodstream and is being pumped around the body. This can cause chronic health issues in vital organs including the heart, lungs, kidney and liver.
So by taking simple measures to prevent poor dental hygiene and health, you’re providing a whole body effect in extending your pet’s life.
How you can help at home
The reason we talk to our clients about dental health a lot is because it is preventable, and it has a massive impact on our pets’ lives.
Humans are affected by all of the above issues, which is why we’re advised to brush our teeth every day, to remove plaque and stop it from causing problems.
That’s also the best thing you can do for your pets – if there was anything better for keeping the teeth and gums healthy, we’d all be doing it, pets and owners alike!
However, whether you can brush your pet’s teeth will depend on whether or not they allow it – we value all of our clients’ fingers!
If you can train your pet to become accustomed to allowing their teeth to be brushed, doing so every day is the best form of dental hygiene in pets. If you can make it a part of their daily routine, many dogs and cats will allow it happily, and some can even grow to enjoy it – after all, attention is attention.
You can take this training in stages, and ideally from a young age.
First get them used to having their face and mouth handled. You can then progress to putting your finger in their mouth with a bit of toothpaste – obviously making sure you have bought tailored toothpaste, never use any designed for humans.
Next you can move on to a toothbrush. You will also need to invest in a species specific toothbrush. Some are designed to fit over the end of the finger, rather than using a long handled brush which may be difficult to manoeuvre in little mouths.
When you’re brushing your pet’s teeth it is the action of the toothbrush against the teeth that provides the benefit, not the toothpaste. So you don’t necessarily need to use toothpaste – it’s just that the pleasant taste can help to ease the process. Some pets will like the taste too much, meaning it can be more of a hindrance than a help!
The difficulty level of brushing a cat’s teeth is higher due to their varying tolerance thresholds, but it can be done and we have plenty of clients who report to us that their pets are more than happy to have their teeth tended to daily.
The process can take a while, and should come alongside lots of treats and positive affirmation. Don’t rush it – take your time and make sure they’re comfortable before moving on. If you try to skip steps and jump straight to putting a toothbrush in your pet’s mouth, you may create negative connotations and never get near them with the brush again!
Other options for caring for your pet’s teeth at home
Brushing isn’t an option for all pets, but there are other options that can help.
The key thing is to try to remove plaque before it turns to tartar. Dental diets are designed with this in mind, with the size and structure of the kibble forcing a pet to chew more, and hence causing more friction with the teeth.
Dental chews can be helpful, although this probably depends more on the pet than the product – the chewing is the important factor, so if they’re just gobbled down that’s more likely to just be a waste of calories!
The best chews and diets are recommended by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC), which you can check by certification on the product packaging.
You can purchase additives for water and other supplements which help to keep plaque softer for longer – but this is only an aid to the other measures we have mentioned above, as the plaque still needs to be removed.
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Doggy dental health: Looking after your dog’s teeth
You may hear of other options that claim to help to care for your dog’s teeth.
Bones or antlers can have an effect – but the honest truth is that many studies have shown they are not very effective.
The problem is that while your pet’s teeth may look lovely and white, the chews may be preventing tartar but they’re not stopping plaque, which is causing a greater risk to their oral health at the gum line and under the gums.
As well as this, bones and antlers do cause a risk of tooth fractures. When a dog places the point of their teeth repeatedly against a hard structure, such as a bone, stress fractures can be caused which may necessitate the tooth to be removed – something that is unfortunately fairly common, especially with obsessive chewers.
Increasingly, we are becoming aware of people such as groomers offering anaesthetic-free dentals and scale and polishes.
Ultimately, all this will achieve is making the surfaces you can see look cleaner, which may make an owner feel better but will not have any positive effect on a dog’s health, as it isn’t cleaning below the gum line.
As well as this, it isn’t the kindest experience you can put your pet through.
We do perform scale and polish under anaesthesia for a reason, and attempting to do so without anaesthesia will cause your pet undue stress – for no real benefit.
Keeping cat teeth clean: The quirks of dental health in cats
Dental diets are a great option for helping with your cat’s dental health.
The majority of standard food will have a very easy fracture point, meaning the food will break down as soon as it comes into contact with the teeth.
Dental diets have a higher fracture point, meaning more of the tooth is needed to break it apart, causing friction all the way to the gum line.
These diets are an option for dogs, but especially for cats, who you may have greater problems with tooth brushing.
They work particularly well for cats as cat mouths and teeth are a more standardised size, which means it is easier to estimate the correct shape and structure of the kibble to create a toothbrushing effect, whereas with dogs there is much greater variance.
We have seen cases of cats going onto dental diets and then signs of dental disease reversing with no further assistance – although we would always recommend that you bring your pet in to see us at least once a year for a check up regardless of their diet!
Cats pose unique problems with their dental health – which is only natural, as all cat owners know that they don’t like to do things by the book!
Dental disease will develop in the same way with cats as with dogs but the end results can be different.
They suffer from a particular type of lesions called feline absorptive lesions which can unfortunately develop at any stage of a cat’s life.
What happens is that around the neck of the tooth and commonly below the gumline they start to reabsorb the enamel in their teeth, causing the structure to become compromised. What can then happen is the nerve bed can become exposed, which is very painful, or the tooth becomes so weak that it fractures.
Why this is isn’t completely understood, but it can be really difficult for us to know it is happening. This is why we x-ray all of the teeth of a cat when we perform a scale and polish, to screen for signs of lesions.
Once a tooth is suffering from absorptive lesions it will never recover, and realistically we will need to remove any affected teeth before they become even more painful.
Cats can also develop a more severe form of gingivitis in which the oral cavity also suffers from inflammation, known as stomatitis.
The cause of this condition isn’t known, although it has been linked to cats who are flu carriers or who suffer from feline immunodeficiency virus.
What it seems is that the immune system overreacts to the presence of plaque and bacteria in the mouth, and it can be incredibly painful for affected cats.
We aim to reduce symptoms with medication and to prevent recurrence by dealing with the cause of plaque, through brushing and diet. However, in extreme cases the only recourse can be to remove the affected teeth, even if they are perfectly healthy, to remove surfaces where plaque can flourish.
How we treat dental disease
Unfortunately, most dogs and cats will suffer from some form of dental disease at some stage in their lives.
If you bring your pet in for, at least, yearly check-ups, our team will assess their dental health during that appointment. But while at home, you should keep an eye out for the following signs that your pet is suffering discomfort:
- Bad breath
- Red, inflamed, bleeding gums
- Visible tartar on the teeth
- Abnormalities in the mouth such as dental fractures
- Loss of appetite, or a change in eating habits such as avoiding dry food
- Pawing at the mouth
- Excess dribbling
If you notice any of the above behaviours, book an appointment to see us immediately.
If we need to provide treatment, we will bring your pet in for the day. We will give them a health check and then admit them for surgery. They will receive a pre-medication that helps them to feel more relaxed, before a full anaesthetic.
Once under anaesthetic we will insert a tube to protect the airways as when we’re cleaning the mouth there will be a lot of water, which we need to prevent them from inhaling.
We will then scale all of the teeth and assess them for damage. As mentioned above, in cats we do full mouth x-rays to look for absorptive lesions, whereas in dogs we will x-ray any teeth there are concerns for individually.
From there we will assess whether a tooth is salvageable or not.
If we find that a tooth has passed the point of saving – perhaps due to bone loss or loss of structure around the tooth that won’t improve – then we will remove them.
The teeth that we always endeavour to save are the canines, as they provide the mouth with structure. Pets who lose their canine teeth will have to relearn how to hold their tongue in their mouth.
It always astounds us how resilient pets can be in living their lives after tooth removal. Gums harden and food can be eaten as normal – it isn’t always necessary to change a pet’s diet long term after tooth loss.
The teeth that we always endeavour to save are the canines, as they provide the mouth with structure. Pets who lose their canine teeth will have to relearn how to hold their tongue in their mouth.
A lot of the time the damaged tooth will be very uncomfortable for your pet, and removing it will see your pet seeming immediately more happy and comfortable, sometimes even surprisingly so.
And of course, the long-term benefits to their health may not be possible to measure.
