Maintaining dental health is vital for your dog. Many pet parents tend to ignore tooth care, but this can have very painful consequences. If your dog’s teeth are not taken care of, they can develop plaque and tartar. Without proper care, your dog can even lose their teeth.
If you want to give the best care to your dog, make sure that you know everything about their dental health. This will help you become a better pet parent and also ensure the healthy teeth of your dog.
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If you are seeing a layer of deposits in your dog’s teeth, chances are that they are either plaque or tartar. Both are build-ups that form on your dog’s teeth. If you want to get rid of those, you must first identify what it is as that will help you understand how to deal with each problem.
Plaque is a gummy build-up that accumulates within hours of a meal. It is soft but continues to get hard with time. Tartar is hard and porous. It forms above or right below the gums. The easiest way to spot the difference is by brushing your dog’s teeth. The plaque will come off after one or more sessions of brushing. Tartar does not come off easily and may require other tactics or even a visit to the doggo dentist.
Both can and will lead to teeth concerns. Once such a problem shows up, it will become painful for your dog and difficult for you to manage the dog. You won’t be able to feed them regular food and might need bad-teeth friendly dog food for your dog. So, to avoid these hassle it is better to tackle such issues before they become serious.
Plaque is the first stage of tooth build-ups and can lead to the rotting of your dog's teeth. This is a gummy layer that accumulates within hours of a meal and starts to harden within a day.
This happens as the gummy plaque comes in continual contact with the salt in your pup’s saliva. The more it mineralizes, the harder the plaque becomes. And, this eventually develops into tartar. Plaque may develop into tartar within two days. So, it is crucial to deal with this issue as soon as possible.
Dental care is crucial if you want your dog to stay healthy and away from pain. Without proper dental care, your dog will be cursed with bad breath and can even break or lose a tooth.
The best way to prevent plaque built-up is by brushing your dog’s teeth. Start with brushing while they are still young, around the age of 8 weeks. The sooner they get “trained” for brushing, the easier it will be for them.
Make sure you choose a time when they are calm and start with a finger brush. Remember that the process takes time so be patient. You might only manage to brush a handful of teeth at a time, but with time your dog will become used to it. Once they are, you can shift to a regular dog toothbrush. Only use good quality dog toothpaste. Brush at least twice a day or after every meal.
As mentioned before, tartar is a developed and mineralized stage of plaque. If you leave plaque unchecked, your dog will develop tartar, which is a lot more difficult to remove. Unless plaque is removed in time, it solidifies and turns to tartar.
Tartar creates a hard, porous surface near the gum line. These hardshell become a breeding ground for bacteria where it thrives and multiplies. These bacteria can lead to gum inflammation and dental disease, which can even lead to loss of teeth.
Tartar also pushes the gum away from the root of the teeth, which exposes the unprotected area of the teeth that has no enamel to protect it, and this exposed area becomes prone to pain and sensitivity.
The first step to preventing tartar is regular brushing. If dental health has not been maintained and tartar has already formed, you have to take steps to soften and remove it.
A great way to prevent and remove tartar is chewing on raw and meaty bones. You can also try giving your dog antlers to chew on. These are great because they last a long time, are digestible and don’t need refrigeration.
Both chew toys and chew treats can help remove plaque. Chewing toys helps loosen and remove tartar build-ups. Give them dental chew treats which can help soften tartar.
There are two ways you can clean your dog’s teeth without brushing. As mentioned before, dental chew treats are a great way to deal with tartar. Chewing helps ensure both the removal and prevention of tartar. Plus those treats are flavored, and your dog will love the taste.
Another great way to clean your dog's teeth is by adding an additive to their drinking water. These dental additives work like mouthwash and help prevent tooth and gum problems. However, some dogs don’t like the taste or are intolerant to it. So, make sure your dog can handle it before adding dental water additives to your pup’s hygiene regime.
Those alternatives can not truly replace brushing. Even if it is difficult and time-consuming, try to brush your dog’s teeth daily.
If you have tried and failed to remove your dog’s tartar, take them to a dog dentist. They will help keep your dog’s teeth squeaky clean. If your dog’s dental problems have progressed too far and no amount of brushing or chewing can take care of the problems, you must take them to the dentist.
Your dog’s dental health is crucial, do not take it lightly. Now that you know what plaque and tartar are, brush and maintain your dog’s teeth so that your pooch is happy and healthy.
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