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Dental Home Care
Monday, February 11, 2019
  By: Kingsdale Animal Hospital  In: Pet Health

 Last week's blog discussed how to brush your pet's teeth at home. But what if your pet  won't let you brush their teeth? What are other options for dental home care? Read on for our discussion on... 

Dental Home Care Options


Firstly, if you are concerned about your pet's dental health, it is best to schedule a FREE Dental Health Assessment appointment during our dental health awareness month! At that appointment, we will examine your pet's teeth and determine the best dental home care strategy for you and your pet. The various options are described below, but some options are better than others for certain degrees of dental tartar and gingivitis. Call us at 905-833-5401 to book your FREE Dental Health Assessment today!

Dental Home Care Options
(1) Dental Diet - A veterinary prescription dental diet is one that does some of the work of brushing through the kibble itself! A lot of research and development has gone into these kibbles to optimize their benefits for your pet's oral health. These kibbles have been designed in such a way that when a dog or cat bites on the dental kibble, the inner surface of the kibble scrubs the teeth like a toothbrush! And these diets taste great too! The two veterinary prescription dental diets are Hill's T/D and Royal Canin Dental. Both diets are available for cats, small dogs, and large dogs here at Kingsdale. The best way to use the dental diet is to give it to your cat or dog as their main diet on a daily basis.


(2) Dental Treats - We all want to spoil our pets with delicious treats and chews! There are a number of dental treat options out there to help clean your pet's teeth while they chew on them. Giving your pet a dental treat every day can help reduce the tartar build up inside their mouth.  

*NOTE* When looking for dental treats and chews, beware of products that just have marketing claims but no real health benefit! There is an organization called the Veterinary Oral Health Council (www.vohc.org) that was created by the veterinary dentists of North America. The VOHC has tested products on the market and put their seal on the products that actually work. The VOHC seal of approval describes whether the product can be used to treat  Look for the VOHC seal of approval on pet oral health care products.

The VOHC approves of the following brands of dental treats for dogs: Tartar Shield, CET chews, Hill's dental chews, and Greenies. VOHC approves of the Greenies dental treats for cats as well. Here at Kingsdale we offer many of these VOHC-approved dental treats to suit your pet's preferences.



(3) Water additive - If your pet has some gingivitis but no tartar build up or they aren't showing any signs of dental disease, a water additive can be a valuable way to maintain your pet's oral health. It is not effective once tartar is present on the teeth, as tartar needs the physical scrubbing of a toothbrush, dental diet, or dental chew to treat it. In other words, the most effective way to use the water additive is before your pet starts to show signs of dental disease. We also have a number of clients that use the water additive after a professional dental cleaning, to help keep their pet's mouth fresh! A water additive is a rinse that is safe to swallow and helps prevent bacteria build up on the teeth. The most recommended water additive is HealthyMouth for dogs and cats and is available at Kingsdale Animal Hospital.


 


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