How does dental health impact the overall health of my dog?

Sometimes it's surprising how much dental health is important. People just think about bad breath as a nuisance, but it can actually lead to much more significant health issues for pets. So it's something highly important to maintain for their long-term health and longevity.

Dr. Jeff Greenfield

How can I care for my dog's teeth at home?

There are a few things that you can do at home. First of all, some chews, whether it be a chew like a treat that the dogs eat that helps to get some of the plaque off, or specifically made toys or chews designed to help clean the teeth. Those can help remove some of the plaque before it becomes tartar. A little more beneficial is a rinse. Sometimes there are water additives or sprays that you can use, like Listerine, to help disinfect the mouth and decrease the bacteria that's there. The most important thing and the biggest help you can do at home, is actually brushing your dog's teeth. If you think about people and their dental health, people brush their teeth every day but still go to the dentist for regular cleanings. So, brushing can really help us keep the dog's teeth healthy between cleanings.

What are some signs and symptoms of dental disease in dogs?

Typically, the first thing people see is some discoloration of the teeth. That's the tartar building up. They're not bright white; you're seeing some tan or sometimes greenish to brown coloration on the teeth. Then people will notice bad breath or halitosis, indicating that there's bacteria in the mouth causing that odor. As things progress and get worse, we can see dogs that sometimes don't eat normally. Occasionally, they'll pick up the food and drop it a few times before eating it, or they'll take longer to chew if there's a painful area. Sometimes dogs are just a little grumpy or less active. I've had clients over the years who didn't really notice much difference in their dog's behavior until they got the teeth cleaned and then saw how much happier and more active they were after that.

What are some of the common dental diseases we see in dogs?

The most common dental disease is gingivitis, which is inflammation of the gums as a reaction to bacteria in the plaque and tartar. We can also see some growths in the mouth. Some of them are benign or non-cancerous and don't cause any trouble. We do also see some cancerous growths in the mouth. Cats are much more likely to get aggressive tumors in the mouth than dogs, but we certainly can see some in dogs as well. If you see any kind of abnormal swelling, redness, or irritation in your dog's mouth, you should certainly have us take a look to evaluate how important it is to get the dog under anesthesia for a full evaluation.

Why is early detection and diagnosis of dental disease so important?

Dental disease can certainly progress. Early on, it's just a nuisance with bad breath and gum irritation, but as dental disease is neglected, we can see that problem progress. The bony support for those teeth can erode away over time. Those teeth can become loose and painful, and the dog can lose teeth. We can also have the bacteria from the plaque and tartar get into the bloodstream through the inflamed gums, which can get to the rest of the body and actually cause certain types of heart disease, affecting the heart valves, and can cause problems with the kidneys. So it can certainly affect the dog's overall health and longevity.

How often should my dog's teeth be checked?

We will check the teeth with every exam, so certainly at least annually for young, healthier dogs. For senior pets, we recommend exams more frequently. If there are any issues, if the dog is chewing on something hard and cracks a tooth, or if there's anything abnormal that you find, you should have it checked at that point.

What is a professional dental cleaning like for a dog?

Unfortunately, we can't really do a good, thorough dental cleaning with dogs being awake, so that involves general anesthesia. We commonly do some blood work before that to assess the dog's overall health and ensure they're in a state where we feel comfortable putting them under anesthesia. They'll have a tube placed in their airway to protect it because there's some water that gets sprayed, and we don't want them breathing that in. Technicians do a very thorough job cleaning the teeth, and we do full radiographs of the entire mouth, so x-rays of all the teeth to find problems below the gums. Then the doctor examines the teeth, and if there are any problem teeth, we would address those with treatment options, including more involved treatments underneath the gums or potentially extraction if the teeth are to the point where we can't save them. But we would get more into that detail once we find out what's going on and contact you. It's an outpatient procedure, so the dogs would be here just for the day and go home and pretty much back to their normal selves, typically by the next day.

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