Good dental health for your pet is within reach – to treat your pet’s tooth pain and prevent further disease, call us now to book an appointment. Poor dental care and hygiene can lead to plaque. Plaque leads to tartar. Tartar can lead to gum disease, which can quickly turn dangerous. Untreated gum disease can cause loose teeth and has even been linked to heart disease.
Gum disease can be ugly and it can be dangerous.
But it is also one of the most common diseases in cats and dogs. Periodontal disease (periodontitis) is an inflammation of some or all of a tooth’s supporting structures. It is caused by bacteria that are located on the teeth and surrounding tissues.
One of the most common signs you may notice is bad breath. You can also raise your pets lip and look for red or swollen gums and teeth that are yellow or brown (plaque/tartar/scale siting on the teeth).
Other signs of severe dental disease can include poor appetite and weight loss. If your pet has scale on the teeth on one side but not the other, this is usually due to the pet no longer eating on the side with the scale and is usually due to tooth pain in one or more teeth and should be seen by us urgently.
Teeth may become loose with worsening periodontal disease, may form an abscess (sometimes seen as a draining sinus beneath the eye over the face) or may fall out from loss of supporting tissues. The link between dental disease and kidney/heart/liver disease has been well established in people and most likely will be the same in our pets, so clean teeth equals healthy pets.
It is very important to brush your cat or dog’s teeth at home. This will help reduce the chances of your pet developing gum disease, but should not be the only measure you take. Brushing will not remove tartar/scale already on your pet’s teeth. To help prevent gum disease, we recommend dry food twice a day, and your veterinarian will recommend the type of food.
Dental care for dogs is important and can start with diet. The benefits of dry food continue to imrpve as pet food companies perfect their recipes. For instance, Eukanuba dry food has a crystal coating to reduces the ability for bacteria to create tartar and scale. Alternatively, Hills T/D dry food is fibrous to ensure it doesn’t shatter on imact, allowing it to rub the slime from your dog’s teeth before it can become tartar. Dental chews can also keep teeth clean and slow tartar build-up.
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