Similar to people, your dogs teeth need to remain clean, and free from decay and infection. When they eat, plaque can collect on their teeth. Left unchecked, the plaque can turn into tartar. Eventually, an infection can emerge causing severe discomfort and pain for your dog. Many owners, perhaps from negligence, fail to keep their dogs teeth in good condition. Below, we will describe a few measures you can take to help ensure that your dogs teeth are clean, healthy, and free from problems.

Brushing Your Dogs Teeth

Your dogs teeth need to be brushed a couple of times each week at a minimum. This helps them to remain clear of plaque, and thereby prevents the build up of tartar. When you brush his teeth, do not use the toothpaste from your grocery store. The mint taste may be pleasant for you, but it can be excruciating for your dog due to his heightened level of smell. Visit a pet supply store to purchase a toothpaste that is formulated for dogs. They will also carry special toothbrushes that are designed to reach your dogs teeth.

Chewing For Good Dental Hygiene

When dogs chew on food or toys, the process can keep their teeth clean. For example, dog biscuits are usually hard and break easily. The small bits from the broken biscuits rub against your dogs teeth, effectively keeping the plaque and tartar from collecting. Of course, chewing shouldn’t take the place of brushing, but it is an alternative for owners who are too busy to brush their dogs teeth. Ideally, you should brush his teeth a couple of times each week and allow him to chew biscuits throughout the week.

Time For The Dentist?

Occasionally, your dog will need to have his teeth professionally cleaned by a veterinarian. Even with diligent brushing and constant chewing, bacteria can build in the crevices between his teeth. With enough time, that bacteria can grow and enter your dogs body, causing harm and impacting his overall health.

Typically, a veterinarian will use an anesthesia to keep your dog sedated during the cleaning process. Then, an x-ray will be taken to examine his teeth more clearly. If the veterinarian does not find any teeth that have been damaged or have become abscessed, he will perform the cleaning. Otherwise, he may suggest that your dog receive a root canal or other procedure.

Only One Set

Your dog has only one set of teeth and can not afford to lose them. To keep them clean and healthy, brush them regularly and give your dog plenty of opportunity to maintain their cleanliness through chewing. Then, schedule a visit to the veterinarian to have your dogs teeth cleaned professionally. Through regular dental care, you can prevent your dog from enduring discomfort and pain.

We all know that brushing and flossing is a must if we want to keep all our teeth in our old age. Of course we want to take good care of our teeth and mouths because we desire pearly white teeth that are aesthetically appealing. However, we realize the importance of dental hygiene; we need to take care of our teeth so we don’t succumb to disease that could have been prevented by simply brushing and flossing multiple times each day.

So, what about our dogs? They have teeth too, and they need dental care just like us. Though they don’t mind if their teeth aren’t the perfect shade of white, they probably do care if their mouth is poorly taken care of and if they suffer later on in life as a result from lack of attention. Like humans, dogs can have plaque, cavities, gingivitis, and tartar. Though you can take your pet to the local groomer to get their teeth cleaned, you can do it at home. Here’s how to take care of your pet’s teeth easily and effectively.

The best way to prevent periodontal disease and inflammation is by daily brushing your dog’s teeth. Of course, you will want to begin slowly and entice your dog with treats and praise to encourage him or her to allow you to brush their teeth. This takes time, and effort, but it is well worth it.

When you brush your dog’s teeth, you will most likely want to use a finger toothbrush or a simple kid-sized toothbrush. These are gentle, yet they allow the tartar and plaque to loosen up on the teeth and be flushed out. Also, you will need to make sure you use special doggie toothpaste. You can either get this at your personal veterinary office or at your local pet supply store. When you apply the toothpaste to the toothbrush, be sure to get the paste deep into the brush; if it just sits on top it will quickly come off in your pet’s mouth and be ineffective. Be sure to brush your dog’s teeth at a 45-degree angle, because this helps ensure that every tooth gets properly cleaned, and this makes it more comfortable for you as well.

Other ways that you can help your pet remain in good oral health is to feed them dry food instead of wet food. The crunchy chow works to gently scrub teeth as the food is chewed. Also, there are many, many special treat products available that claim to help clean teeth; though these do help, they certainly are not as effective as actually brushing each day. Chew toys are another way to help keep up good dental health. Chew toys with rubber prongs or ones that are textured certainly help gently rub off plaque from the teeth and are good choices for your pet’s oral health.

Just like humans, dental health is important to dogs. Dogs can suffer from periodontal disease, gingivitis, tartar and plaque. There are doggie toothbrushes, toothpaste, chew toys, food, and treats that help keep your pet’s mouth happy and healthy. Help your dog, and keep their mouth and teeth squeaky clean! This is an excellent source for Pet Supplies to help with your pet’s dental health.

Dog tooth cleaning is essential for your dog’s dental hygiene and after your dog reaches the age of two to three years plus, dog tooth cleaning will become more and more essential as your dog grows up.

Every time your dog has a bowl of food or some treats (some treats help with cleaning teeth) some of the food gets stuck around the gums and mouth of the dog. This food then turns into plaque and after staying there for a short period of time of about one to three days, this plaque turns into tartar which is a key element in gum and mouth diseases which can put your dog in a lot f pain.

To combat these diseases you will need to get rid of the plaque and you do this in much the same way as us humans do it, witch is by brushing them. Dogs are a little bit trickier to deal with than humans so training will be needed.

First you need to get your dog to sit using the commands learnt on this site. If you cannot do this yet then it should be taught first. Start by gently breaking your dog into the habit of you playing with their teeth and around the mouth area by rubbing a tasty nice tasting treat around the teeth and mouth, if your dog acts well and lets you do it you should reward him/her for their patience with a treat every time.

After your dog is comfortable with you playing with their teeth, start to do the same but with dog toothpaste so they get used to the taste and sensation. When you and your dog are comfortable with you using your finger instead of a toothbrush its time to make the swap to the real thing.

To brush effectively you should move the dog toothbrush in circular motions to dislodge plaque and start from the back teeth working your way to the front, don’t be too rough with your dog and always try to keep it fun for them and you shouldn’t have too many problems.

Not many people understand the importance of dental care in maintaining the general health and well being of dogs. Just like humans dogs need regular dental care. It is the responsibility of owners to make sure that they get it. A responsible dog owner takes care of their dog’s teeth.

Food residue can accumulate on your dog’s teeth just as it does on your own teeth. It quickly leads to tartar and plaque build up causing tooth decay and gum disease. All the things you know about dental care in humans applies to your dog too.

If you neglect your dog’s dental care it can lead to pain for the dog. The pain will stop them eating and their health will suffer as a result. An even more serious result of tooth decay are diseases and ulcerated gums that can cause blood poisoning if left untreated.

Even if you avoid giving your dog sweet treats they are at risk of dental decay. So it is important to pay attention to dental hygiene when caring for your dog. Dental care is vital to maintaining your dog’s health.

Brushing is essential. A small soft brush is best. You can get a specially designed canine brush from your vetinarian or dog food supplier.

Remember that a dog’s sense of smell and taste is far more acute than our’s so don’t use toothpaste that is intended for human beings. It is too strongly flavoured and would distress a dog. Canine toothpaste usually has a meaty flavour that your dog will like.

Begin your dental care regime when your dog is a puppy. They get used to having their teeth brushed and regard it as part of their regular grooming routine. Start with small sessions at first. You must build up your dog’s trust in order to let you clean their teeth.

Your choice of food is also important. Dog’s need to crunch and chew their food. In the wild they are used to crunching bones. It is important to allow then to have a bone or chew toys. It is a valuable part of your dog’s dental care.

Dry food and biscuits are better than canned dog meat for dental care. They help to keep the teeth clean and do not build up on the teeth allowing bacteria to multiply. Some buiscuits are specially designed for cleaning a dog’s teeth. These make a good treat for good behaviour. You will know that you have taken care of your dog’s dental health and your dog will feel rewarded.

If your dog has dental problems you will get a face full of bad breath every time he greets you. Eventually you will get a massive bill from your vetinarian. Dog dentistry is seriously expensive. What is more it is dangerous because it needs an anesthetic. So avoid it if you can be paying attention to your dog’s dental care.

Dogs like to chew. But, dog parents may be entering dangerous territory when choosing appropriate products. Some of the most popular chew items, like rawhide-type chews, hooves, snouts, vinyl dog toys and bones may be killing our dogs.

In 2005, a New York couple filed a $5 million lawsuit against the makers of Greenies – yes, those popular green toothbrush-shaped chews sold in pet stores and vet clinics nationwide.

According to the lawsuit, Burt, their beloved black and tan Dachshund, was given a petite-sized Greenie. The next day Burt, suddenly ill, was taken to a vet who suspected an intestinal blockage. The diagnosis was confirmed by X-Ray analysis, and Burt underwent emergency surgery. The surgeon removed what was described as a green and rubbery eraser-like object that was lodged in Burt’s small intestine. The lawsuit contends that the object was the "toothbrush" end of a chewed Greenie that had increased in size by approximately 25% while lodged in Burt’s body.

Over three feet of the 12-pound dog’s intestine had decayed and was surgically removed. Over the next 48 hours at the clinic, Burt suffered, bled internally, vomited blood and developed pneumonia and septicemia. He endured three cardiac failures before he died.

The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money. The original Greenies were phased out and "new" Greenies soon became available. New Greenies came about following S&M NuTec’s recent acquisition by Mars earlier this year. Billed as the "next generation in canine dental care," new Greenies claim to be 96% digestible.

Greenies, however, are not unique. Many more potentially dangerous chew products fill the shelves of pet stores – rawhides, pig ears, snouts, bully sticks, cow hooves, smoked bones, and more.

There is little regulation on dog chew products, but the Food and Drug Administration has issued nationwide public health warning alerting consumers about a number of cases of human illnesses apparently related to contact with dog chew products made from pork or beef-derived materials.

The FDA warned that the products may pose a risk of bacterial infection such as Salmonella infantis which can cause flu-like symptoms in normally healthy people, but may cause far more serious – even life threatening illness in immune-compromised patients.

Additionally, many rawhide chews and related items are difficult to digest and some dogs swallow large chunks of hide that can lead to intestinal impactions. The harder type products, like hooves and bones have been reported to split, splinter or break and lead to damage in the digestive tract.

Rawhide is the processed skin of animals. Various techniques and chemicals are used in the preparation of these products along with similar versions of chew products such as smoked hooves, etc. Millions of these products are imported and it is physically impossible for the FDA to test all the products and the production methods utilized. Some techniques of hide tanning incorporate mercury and arsenic during the curing process. Distressingly, some chews do not even identify what kind of animal skin or bone was used to produce a chew treat.

Play it safe. Appropriately sized, hard rubber Kongs are the safest products available. They satisfy your dog’s chewing needs, and stuffed with your own foods can safely entertain your dog for hours.