Dental Care

Poor dental care can shorten your pet's life.

Dental disease doesn't just mean smelly breath - it is a whole body disease. Infection can spread to affect the kidneys, heart valves and other areas.

Brushing

Start teeth cleaning early when you first get your new puppy or kitten.

Pet owners can prevent or alleviate gum decay by feeding hard biscuits to scrub the teeth, by keeping soft foods that can leave debris to a minimum, by providing hard rubber or nylon toys for chewing, and by brushing their teeth regularly.

From the BVDA website:

"You will need a (soft) toothbrush and a toothpaste formulated for pets. You must use a pet toothpaste as the human toothpastes have a high fluoride content which can be toxic to cats and dogs. Start the process gradually, brush one tooth a day at the beginning. Move up to a couple of teeth per day and soon you will be doing one side per day. Then eventually the whole mouth. The technique is really the same as for humans; a circular movement around the area where the tooth meets the gum. If some bleeding occurs try to persist, it will soon stop as you keep the area free of plaque and the gums heal."

Periodontal disease

Periodontal disease is a chronic infection of the tissues supporting the teeth and affects at least 85% of animals over 3 years of age, resulting in unpleasant smelling breath and other problems.

If the teeth are not cared for properly, plaque can build up and causes gingivitis, inflammation or reddening of the gums. Eventually the plaque becomes mineralised and calculus (tartar) forms followed by periodontal disease and unpleasant smelling breath. The bacteria involved, and the toxins they produce, enter the bloodstream and can cause damage to the heart, liver and kidneys.

Canine	Feline	What are the stages of Periodontitis?
		Stage I Gingivitis Margin of attached gingiva (gum) is inflamed and swollen. Plaque covering teeth. Treatment can reverse condition.
		Stage II Early Periodontitis Entire attached gum is inflamed and swollen. Mouth is painful and odor begins to be noticeable. Professional treatment and home dental care can prevent this from becoming irreversible.
		Stage III Moderate Periodontitis Cherry red and bleeding attached gum is being destroyed by infection and calculus (tartar). Sore mouth affects eating and behavior. Bad breath is present. Beginning of periodontal disease. May be irreversible.
		Stage IV Advanced Periodontitis Chronic bacterial infection is destroying the gum, tooth and bone. Bacteria may be spreading throughout the entire body via the bloodstream and may damage the kidneys, liver and heart.

With acknowledgements to Virbac Animal Heath

Dental issues with Rabbits

Rabbit with overgrown incisors, during a burring operation

Rabbit with overgrown incisors, after a burring operation

Dental disease is one of the most common problems we see in rabbits. Rabbits have teeth which grow continuously – as much as 2 mm a week. The incisors (front teeth) should meet so that, as the rabbit chews, they wear down. If they don’t meet they will become overgrown and the rabbit will eventually be unable to eat.

The molar (cheek) teeth can also grow abnormally and develop ‘spurs’ which cause a very painful ulceration inside the cheek or on the tongue resulting in saliva dribbling around the mouth.

Rabbit with overgrown incisors, during and after a burring operation

Getting help

If you are concerned about your pet’s teeth, please contact us to arrange a dental check up during which we can discuss any treatment required as well as methods of preventing problems in the future.

Links

More information on dental care can be found on the BVDA, the Pet Planet news, the Petsmile websites.

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