13 Dec What Can Brushing Do and Not Do for Your Dog or Cat?
Is brushing your pet’s teeth important? As veterinary dental specialists, Dr. Briggs and Dr. Greenfield stress the importance of pet owners looking in their pet’s mouths frequently. One of the best methods of good visualization is to brush your dog or cat’s teeth at a minimum of 3 times weekly. For those dogs with advanced periodontal disease, daily brushings are recommended.
What can brushing do for your pet’s teeth?
Brushing a minimum of 3 times weekly or, even better, daily removes the plaque that forms on and, unfortunately, below the gum line. The plaque that forms below the gum line is the most sinister, leading to the body releasing inflammatory cells that can lead to bone destruction. Therefore, brushing does help, to some degree, with removing that plaque below the gum line. Unfortunately, it only removes about 1-2 mm of plaque, but any bit helps.
The second reason why brushing your pet’s teeth is important is it allows you to visualize the teeth and gums for possible problems such as tooth fracture, excessive gingival swelling, or possible early formation of an oral tumor. Without frequent visualization, a small oral mass can grow to a large one, possibly making it unresectable. That would not be good, would it?
What does brushing not do for your pet’s teeth?
As I mentioned, brushing, even daily, is not a substitute for annual anesthetic dental care. Why is this? One reason was mentioned above…brushing only removes 1-2 mm of plaque below the gumline, so at least annually, we need to assess every tooth for possible pockets greater than 1-2 mm and treat them accordingly. That has to be done under anesthesia and under the care of a trained professional.
Brushing does not prevent cats from getting tooth resorption (TR). We still don’t know the etiology of TR, and even though we encourage frequent brushing to remove plaque, it does not prevent TR formation.
What type of paste should I use?
Check the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) website (www.vohc.org) for appropriate pastes to use. Some are enzymatic, so brushing may not be as important, but we both recommend brushing even when using those types of paste. We personally like PetSmile enzymatic paste, Tartar Shield toothpaste, and CET toothpaste. All are excellent choices.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is brushing is beneficial and recommended. So let’s do this thing! If you have any questions or concerns about brushing your pet’s teeth, contact us at Your Pet Dentist today to schedule an appointment.
Barden Greenfield, DVM, DAVDC
Board Certified Veterinary Dentist ™
Your Pet Dentist of Nashville
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