Bad Breath in Your Pet is from Dental Disease

126February is National Pet Dental Health Month. Your Shawnee and Lenexa area veterinarian Dr. Regehr writes on how we can prevent bad breath and tooth loss in your dog or cat? Today we are going to cover the highlights of home dental care. Our Perimeter Veterinary Center staff  have created a tooth brushing demonstration video that you can view here.

Brushing your pet’s teeth may seem a strange recommendation. When I was a child none of our dogs ever had a dental cleaning.  My parents always followed the best recommendations of our veterinarian.  We weren’t opting out, we just didn’t know that we should do dental care. Oh how times have changed.  Pet owners are now used to our recommendation that pet’s need dental cleanings just like people.  Remember your pet is aging 7-10 times faster than you and we are recommending a professional cleaning only one time per year. In that equivalent aging time you’ve been to your dentist 13 more times.  How can we make up the difference? The answer is home dental care.

There are options for all types of pet owners and all types of pets. Our best and first recommendation is daily tooth brushing.  When I say daily, I mean every single day all year round.  Brushing every few days or at grooming will have absolutely no impact on the prevention of bad breath and dental plaque/tartar accumulation.  We recommend this coupled with 1 C.E.T. dental chew every day. We have dental starter kits to get you started brushing at home.

If you’ve tried brushing and failed, first decide why it didn’t work.  Was it your commitment or your pet’s ability to tolerate brushing?  If your limitation was your pet tolerating the procedure please call us, make an appointment and we will train you to train your pet!  Teaching tooth brushing is just another behavior you are teaching like sit, lay or stay.

If brushing didn’t work because, as we all know life gets in the way, consider these great options like Oral Hygeine Rinse and C.E.T. Dental Chews.  We recommend that every pet receive a dental chew daily whether or not you opt for a rinse or brushing.  Everyone on our staff uses the C.E.T. line of products on their own pets.  My cats and dogs love their daily chews.

If you choose an alternate oral health product make sure it has the Veterinary Oral Health Council Seal (VOHC Approved).  Also, follow the product recommendations.  We have a list of VOHC approved products if you have any questions.  All the C.E.T. products are over the counter and available through our online store.  If you’d like to discuss dental care, please call Perimeter Veterinary Center in Shawnee, KS at 913-742-8387 to schedule an appointment.  We can get you and your pet on the road to dental disease prevention!

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