Dental care for dogs: tips for healthy teeth

Key Takeaways

• Regular dental careDental care is essential for your dog's health to prevent tooth decay, gingivitis and other health problems.

• Proper nutritionAvoid sugar and grains in food to promote dental health. Barfing can be a healthy alternative.

• Professional controlVisit the vet once or twice a year for a dental check-up to detect and treat problems at an early stage.

• Chews and toysSpecial chewing articles and dental care toys support dental hygiene in a natural way.

• Brushing teethSlowly and stress-free get your dog used to brushing its teeth to effectively improve oral hygiene.

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Dental care and the associated dental health is extremely important for your dog. Teeth do a lot of preliminary work for a successful digestion.

Basic requirements for healthy teeth

First of all, we will address the topic of "healthy teeth". These are not self-evident and require a certain care.

The basic prerequisite for healthy teeth is the right dog food. Many products contain grain and sugar. This sugar promotes the formation of certain bacteria in the dog's mouth.

These bacteria and other ingredients in the food can attack the tooth enamel, destroy the natural protection and are therefore an easy target for bacteria and tooth decay.

At the same time, these teeth are more susceptible to the formation of tartar. This tartar is then an ideal breeding ground for bacteria, which can lead to gum inflammation and other problems.

If you choose the wrong food, the health of your pet's teeth and general health will be impaired. In addition, many dogs do not drink enough fluids. The lack of fluids also affects their oral health.

Therefore, make sure that there is always enough water available - even on long walks or excursions. Visit the vet's practice once or twice a year to have your pet's teeth checked. Just like you, your furry friend needs regular oral check-ups.

It is also important that you always provide your pet with special chews and prophylactic products. These are given in the form of toys, treats or chews. Regular exposure to these items promotes dental health.

Dental care for your furry friend is indispensable. If the care is missing, it can bring many disadvantages.

Tooth decay, inflammation and general health problems are some of the disadvantages of a lack of care. If your four-legged friend's dental care suffers, the following risks can occur:

Inflammation of the gums (gingivitis)

Another term for inflammation of the gums is "gingivitis". It is a common disease in furry friends.

About 8 out of 10 dogs suffer from such inflammation once in their life. The main cause of inflammation of the gums is the lack - or lack of - dental care.

The symptoms of gingivitis can be the following:

• Bad breath
• reddened interior of the mouth
• bloody saliva
• purulent deposits in saliva and oral cavity
• Loss of appetite
• Feed refusal
• Weight loss
• Tooth loss
• Fever spikes
• unilateral mastication
• pain.

Caries

While tooth decay often occurs in humans, it is rather rare in dogs. However, it is caused by a lack of dental care. Caries can cause your pet's teeth to loosen and fall out.

The most common cause of tooth decay is the wrong diet. Many industrially manufactured products have a high sugar content.

Caries is an infection caused by certain acid-producing bacteria, which multiply due to a high-sugar diet and form acid by breaking down sugar. This acid attacks the tooth enamel and can thus destroy the tooth.

The lack of dental care increases the incidence of tooth decay. To prevent tooth decay, you should improve the dental care of your pet and change the food if necessary.

Plaque and tartar

Plaque and tartar are harbingers of gum inflammation and tooth decay. Although your pet is not yet severely affected by these symptoms, plaque and tartar can already be detrimental to their health.

Due to the tartar, your furry friend will no longer be able to chew the food properly. Food intake therefore becomes a challenge. The stomach and intestines also suffer.

Chewing is difficult due to plaque and tartar. Most of the food reaches the stomach unchewed. If this is the case, the stomach works harder than usual. As a result, more stomach acid is produced. This in turn weakens the stomach lining and attacks it.

Caution with older dogs

Lack of dental care in dogs can lead to dental problems. Special care should be taken with older dogs. They no longer have a strong immune system and their organs lack strength. If an older four-legged friend suffers from dental problems, it is much more likely that vital organs will be attacked.

Proper dental care for your pet is made up of various points. Although a healthy diet can prevent some problems, it is not the only remedy for dental problems.

With the right dental care, you can improve your furry companion's quality of life and increase their activity and well-being. So that you are well advised on this point, we have set out to find the ideal dental care for your dog.

Here are our results:

• The right food
• Food and water supplements
• healthy treats
• Use of special chewing articles
• Dental care toy
• The teeth brushing

1. the right diet

The right diet is the be-all and end-all for dental care.

Do not give your four-legged friend any industrially produced products that are of poor quality. As a rule, these products contain too much grain and too much sugar. This in turn weakens dental health.

Tip: Consider using barfing. Barfeeding is a healthy diet for your furry friend. In addition to ready-made products, you can also prepare the meals yourself.

Barfing is a natural form of nutrition in which you feed your pet raw ingredients. One advantage of barfing is that it promotes dental health.

2. nutritional supplements

Various supplements are being used more and more by dog owners. The products are tailored to the dog's dental care. They are available for little money in specialist pet shops or on the Internet. They are simply administered by adding the product to the food or water.

3. Treats

Treats play an important role in oral hygiene. Many treat products contain too much sugar.

For this reason, you should choose products that contain as little sugar as possible and promote dental health. You are welcome to make the treats yourself. Here is a great recipe:

Treat sticks

Ingredients:

• 200 g ground oatmeal
• 150 g granular cream cheese
• 1 egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 150 °C
• Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix together
• Shape treats as desired
• Line baking tray with baking paper
• Bake treats in the oven for 25 minutes

Vegetable treat

Ingredients:

• 1 carrot
• 300 g potatoes
• ½ zucchini
• 100 g polenta
• 1 tablespoon low fat curd
• 1 tsp coconut oil

Preparation:

• Peel and coarsely chop the carrot
• Potatoes also peel and cut into small pieces
• Grate zucchini
• Preheat oven to 150 °C
• Boil carrot and potatoes until soft
• Mix all ingredients together
• Shape treats as needed
• Line baking tray with baking paper
• Bake treats for 50 - 60 minutes

You can find more recipes in our article "How to bake dog cookies yourself.“

4. special chewing articles

Various chewing articles are a great help and an important part of dental care. The market is full of such articles. This is the reason why more and more dog owners are losing track of what to choose. We have put together the best options for you here.

If your pet has a strong and healthy set of teeth and is middle-aged, the following items may be helpful for dental care:

• Ox Ears
• Bullwhip
• Salmon chewing bone
• natural dental care chips
• Peppermint snacks
• Beef tendons
• Beef bones
• Beef lung snacks
• Cattle hooves
• Chewing roots
• Wild Antlers

5. toys for dental care

You can enable your faithful companion to cleverly combine dental care with play activities. There are more and more products that make it possible to promote teething health with the help of toys. Please pay attention to the following:

Dental care toys are particularly suitable for adult dogs. Do not use them for puppies or older dogs, as they can damage their teeth. They need special toys. A visit to a specialist pet shop will answer your most important questions.

6. brushing teeth

Opinions differ among dog owners when it comes to brushing their dog's teeth. While some are against brushing, others are in favor of this method as the best solution.

We also think that you should resort to brushing your dog's teeth to improve oral hygiene. The assertion that four-legged friends used to take care of their own dental hygiene before they were domesticated is true. However, this cannot be compared with today.

7. the feeding behavior has changed

Due to dog keeping, their natural lifestyle is lost. The feeding behavior suffers as a result.

While dogs used to eat mainly raw food, industrially produced food products with a high sugar content or other ingredients can lead to a lack of dental care. It is therefore advisable to occasionally brush your dog's teeth.

You should make it a fun experience for your pet. Stress and pressure are out of place and are more detrimental than beneficial.

Here we give you a quick step-by-step guide on how to make brushing your charge's teeth easier:

1. introduce command

Your furry friend uses the command to identify brushing their teeth with the current situation. The command can be any word. However, make sure that the chosen word is not too long and that it is only used for the tooth brushing situation.

2. touching the mouth area

Constantly touching the mouth area will help you to get your pet used to the procedure. Simply start by touching the muzzle. Open the mouth occasionally and communicate the selected command.

Everything should take place casually and without pressure. You can apply the second step for some time. It's better to take too much time than too little.

After your dog gets used to being touched, you can bring the toothbrush into play. Touch his muzzle with the toothbrush and try to push it casually into his mouth.

3. getting used to toothpaste

Once you have successfully applied the previous steps and your dog has become accustomed to them, you can move on to the third step. In this step, you get your pet used to the toothpaste. As a rule, dog toothpaste already has a pleasant taste for four-legged friends.

Start by touching the muzzle a little with the toothpaste so that your little one gets a taste of this product.

4. repeat steps in combination

After you have used steps 2 and 3 for a long time, you can repeat these steps - but this time in combination. This means that you use the toothpaste in combination with the toothbrush.

Make your own dog toothpaste

Making your own dog toothpaste is not as difficult as you think. You need few ingredients and likewise you must invest little time.

Below you will find instructions for making your own dog toothpaste:

Ingredients:

• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp beef-flavored broth powder (e.g. beef broth)
• 1 tsp coconut oil (helps against tartar)
• 1 tablespoon freshly chopped peppermint
• ½ tsp seaweed

Preparation:

• Put all ingredients in a bowl
• Mix ingredients
• Put toothpaste in a container and always keep it cold

You can do a few things to ensure adequate dental care.

Lack of dental care is counterproductive for the health of your pet. For this reason, daily dental care should be a top priority.

The most important points here are using the ideal food and brushing teeth.

Find out if the current dog food is beneficial or more detrimental to your dog's dental health and make a change if needed.

Slowly get your little one used to brushing their teeth. No matter which option you use for dental care.

Stress and pressure are counterproductive and should be avoided. Heed our tips and promote the dental health of your pelt nose.