Dental disease is one of the most common issues we treat in veterinary medicine. Without appropriate dental care every cat and dog will develop plaque, gingivitis, and sometimes periodontal disease as they get older.

What is Dental Plaque?

It is the hard calculus that forms on the surface of the teeth. There is always bacteria within the mouth, and in as short a time as 8 hours it can adhere to the teeth. This bacteria then starts to form a matrix by binding to other bacteria, components of the saliva and surfactants released by the bacteria.

This combination of bacteria, saliva and byproducts of the bacteria become a hard protective biofilm on the surface of the teeth that we can visually see as calculus. This calculus will continue to thicken and spread over time as more bacteria and saliva are added to the mix.

This plaque, when present along the gingival margin (the rim of tissue jut along the teeth), will then cause inflammation and infection of the gingiva which is known as gingivitis.

Removing this thick plaque from the teeth can help reverse gingivitis but must be performed under general anesthesia to completely and safely clean the teeth.

There have been people who will perform anesthesia fee dental scaling, but this is not recommended by the American Veterinary Dental College.

If you only scale away the plaque at the surface you will miss a large amount of painful dental disease that is under the surface of the gum. This is known as periodontal disease.

What is Periodontal Disease

This is the irreversible damage that occurs around the roots of the teeth, under the gum line where it can’t be seen. We find periodontal disease when they are under anesthesia and we are able to probe around the teeth and can take dental x-rays.

During periodontal disease inflammation begins to form in the periodontal pocket which is the area where the tooth root sits. Bacteria from the mouth will also begin to colonize this space and the inflammation will worsen.

This results in bone loss around the teeth which is painful and will cause the teeth to loosen in the mouth. These teeth need to be extracted to prevent the infection and inflammation from spreading to other teeth.

Some teeth will have early periodontal disease and bone loss and do not need to be extracted yet. But again, this damage is not reversible. So our goal becomes prevention of worsening periodontal disease.

Ideally animals with already significant periodontal disease will have regular dental cleanings at their veterinarians office to monitor the periodontal disease and perform thorough dental cleanings.

But there are also some things you can do at home.

1. Brushing

There are a lot of dental products out there which I will discuss in this post. But what is it our dentist recommend we do every day? They recommend we brush our teeth twice daily and floss once a day right?

I’m not going to recommend you do that much, but brushing your pets teeth is an integral part of keeping their teeth clean and healthy.

I mentioned earlier that within 8 hours bacteria will start to adhere to the teeth. This means if you only brush your pets teeth once a week they are already forming the thick bio-film on the teeth that we can visually see as dental plaque.

Brushing at home will not remove or prevent this plaque formation if you do it infrequently.

Ideally you can brush your cat or dogs teeth once daily or at least every other day. Because if you do it any less frequently than that plaque will begin to form.

I recommend the CET brand of products for cat and dog toothpaste. It comes in multiple flavors that are enticing to pets, is safe to swallow and contains enzymes which help to kill the oral bacteria and remove them from the teeth.

Side note, I personally did not like the seafood flavored option. Not because it didn’t work or because my pets didn’t like it. But because I really disliked the smell as I was brushing their teeth. Thankfully their breath didn’t continue to smell like the toothpaste and it did work to make their teeth clean and breath smell fresh.

But yeah, that was not nearly as pleasant as their chicken or beef flavored options.

I also recommend using a soft bristle tooth brush. CET sells a toothbrush as well but I usually recommend owners use a kids tooth brush. They’re very gentle and usually pretty cheap so it’s easy to switch it out after your pet has chewed up the bristles.

Plaque can form on all surfaces of the teeth but try to focus on just brushing the outer surfaces of the teeth. If your pet is extremely cooperative then you can try brushing the inner surfaces as well.

But the thickest calculus forms on the outer surfaces so this is the main area to focus on.

What if they won’t allow you to brush?

Unfortunately some cats and dogs just will not allow tooth brushing. It could be due to pain in the mouth but more often it’s because we didn’t start doing it when they are young.

It’s weird and scary to have someone pushing something in to your mouth, so if they haven’t been taught to allow it form a young age they may not cooperate with the brushing.

2. Dental Chews

CET also has some great dental chews that are infused with enzymes and an antiseptic called chlorhexadine. These ingredients, combined with the abrasive action of chewing, will help to clean the teeth when brushing isn’t possible.

They also offer chews for cats which is great since they are some of my least cooperative patients when it comes to brushing the teeth.

Many people have heard of Greenie’s Dental Chews. And they do work well and have the VOHC (Veterinary Oral Health Council) seal of approval. But I have found that the green dye in this product can cause diarrhea in some dogs. Some dogs don’t do well with it at all while others just can’t tolerate it as a daily treat. I recommend starting slowly with giving it every other day. If your dog or cat likes these treats and their poops stay solid you can start giving it every day.

3. Gels

Another great option is the OravVet Prevention Gel. It only needs to be used once a week which is a great option for busy owners or uncooperative patients. The gel is applied to the teeth and works like a barrier to prevent the bacteria from sticking to the teeth.

If the bacteria can’t stick then they can’t form a biofilm and plaque.

4. Dental Diets

There are also some veterinary prescription diets which are designed to prevent plaque and tarter formation like Hill’s Prescription t/d. I actually use this diet as a daily treat for my own dogs. It can be used as a dogs primary diet, but I generally just give it as a treat so I can keep my pets on a different food.

5. Toys

I also recommend some of the rubber chew toys to help keep clean the teeth of dogs. The Kong stuffers are very strong and a great option for hard chewers. I also found this Arm and Hammer Chew Toy that is infused with baking soda to also help clean and freshen the teeth. If you have a dog with very strong jaws who tends to destroy his toys just be sure that he isn’t able to chew off pieces of these toys.

6. Water Additives

There are a lot of dental water additives available online and most are not recommended because they have not been proven to actually help the teeth. But there is one product which has the VOHC seal of approval, and it is the HealthyMouth products.

They have water additives and gels for both dogs and cats. They can be purchased online from their website at

https://www.healthymouth.com/

I hope this helps you to find the best option for keeping your pet family healthy. The dirty teeth above are the teeth of my own dog Bonnie. I planned to get her teeth cleaned this spring before Covid hit. And I still plan to do it but things are just so crazy at work I haven’t made it the priority I should. But before the end of the summer I plan to bring her in and get her teeth cleaned, polished and x-rayed.

What do you do to keep your own pets teeth clean and healthy? Do any of you brush your cats teeth? Have you personally had a pet go to the vet recently for a dental cleaning?

I’d love to know what products you have used or that have been recommended by your own vet.