Poor dental health can lead to serious health issues for your pets, even heart problems. Just like in humans, the plaque build up can break off, get into the bloodstream and travel through the arteries!
I’ve discovered from having my two MuttButs that like humans, our pets dental health can vary greatly. For instance, Riedi’s teeth seem to simply get more plaque buildup than Margi’s. He’s now 13 and has had to get a professional cleaning every year or two.
Margi’s teeth, on the other hand, don’t accumulate plaque quite as bad. She’s almost 11 and has only had one professional cleaning.
What do you need to do for your MuttButs?
- Talk to your veterinarian about the best dental plan for you and your pets.
- Brush their teeth daily with specific canine toothpaste and brush. No Human Toothpaste! Daily brushing is a hard one for me too. I struggle with it.
- Find good toys that help massage their teeth and gums. While no toy will replace daily brushings, they can help with their dental health.
TIP – When you get your MuttButs teeth checked during their annual exam, make sure you inquire further to make sure they don’t need a dental cleaning soon. Riedi & Margi have a great vet and he told me to make sure I get their dental cleaning within 30 days of their annual exam. This is because they have bloodwork done with their annual exam and will also need it with their dental cleaning. If they have it done within 30 days, you don’t need to do it again and you can SAVE MONEY simply by carefully scheduling their dental cleaning. You know how much I love money savers!
I also give my MuttButs deer antlers to chew on. You can find ones that have been naturally shed. I do have a warning: Please make sure the points are sawed off of them. They love to get to the marrow and chew, which can help keep their teeth clean. However Margi has had an incident with them. A very expensive incident!
Before I realized I needed to make sure the antlers didn’t have their points still on them, I gave one to Margi and she was chewing away on it having a grand time. I noticed that she was chewing really hard and going to town on it and then would get up and run drink water and come back to her antler.
It didn’t register with me what was going on until the next day: Margi was so into chewing her antler that she was BREAKING TEETH OFF!! Margi has a very high tolerance for pain (I think it’s a female thing) and didn’t even cry when it happened. I noticed the next morning when she was giving me kisses that THREE teeth were missing! This is why she had to get her professional cleaning. The teeth were broken off so the roots needed to be pulled so they didn’t get infected. My poor little MuttBut!
I did talk to her veterinarian, Dr. Diaz with East Marietta Animal Hospital, and he told me that I needed to make sure not to give her pointy antlers, but that she did need something to chew on the help with her teeth in addition to daily brushing. I do still give Margi and Riedi antlers, just not the pointy ones. Expensive lesson learned.
Thank goodness it was Margi and not Riedi, he would still be crying about it. He has a very low level of tolerance for pain.
With as many kisses that my MuttButs give me, it’s important that they have clean teeth and fresh breath!
Thanks to Bo Clements for smiling for the camera when Margi wouldn’t!
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I had to stop the antlers — they were wearing down the enamel on the teeth. But until then it was great. We go anesthetic free dental every 4 months. And bully sticks 9under supervision) and we rub coconut oil on the teeth every morning and brush the teeth with chicken flavored toothpaste every night! Oral health is SUPER important!
I’m going to have to try the coconut oil! Thanks for the tip!
Great information! So many people have no clue of the importance of good pet dental health, so your post is especially important! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the valuable information! I’ve never given my dogs antlers, so I did not know this fact. It might come in handy. Healthy teeth are so important. Take care!
I know I am getting close to needing a professional teeth cleaning. I have never had one done but I have tartar starting on my canines. Dental health is very important.
Mr. N had a dental last year. He had a fractured tooth but he is also very stoic about pain!
Wow, 3 missing teeth! That is so scary because our boys enjoy antlers fairly regularly!
Great job highlighting dental health – it is so important and not as difficult as many dog owners would think!