Dental Health
Dental disease, if left untreated, can lead to systemic illness. Because of this we strive through both dentistry and dietary means to keep you pet's teeth as healthy as possible.
Pfizer Animal Health recently introduced Porphyromonas, a new vaccine for dogs that helps prevent peridontal disease. Ask your Down Maine Vet for information on how this product might help your pet. You can learn more about cannine peridontal disease at Pfizer Animal Health.
Steps to Better Oral Care
1. Schedule Regular Visits
Every regular exam in our clinic includes a dental exam. If we find signs of disease, we will recommend a treatment plan to you.
2. Start a Home Oral Care Routine
Ideally, plaque should be removed from pets’ teeth every day before it mineralizes to tartar. By brushing your pets’ teeth properly each day, you will remove plaque buildup. In addition, you can feed specially formulated foods that help reduce the accumulation of plaque and tartar from teeth.
Here's how to establish an oral care routine at home:
- Introduce a brushing program gradually; training may take several days or weeks.
- At first, dip your fingers into beef bouillon for a dog or tuna water for a cat and rub your fingers over the pets’ mouth and teeth.
- Make these initial sessions brief and positive.
- Introduce gauze on your fingers with the same beef or tuna flavor and begin rubbing the teeth in a circular motion.
- Before graduating to a soft bristle toothbrush, put a small amount of toothpaste specifically designed for pets on your fingers and allow your pet to taste it.
- Finally, apply a small dab of pet toothpaste on a moist toothbrush and allow your pet to lick the bristles. Begin brushing gently at a 45 degree angle away from the gum line.
- VERY IMPORTANT: Toothpaste designed for people contains ingredients that may upset pets’ stomachs.
3. Schedule Regular Dental Checkups
Monitor the progress of your pets’ preventative programs with regular dental checkups. These checkups are essential, just as twice-a-year checkups are important for people. For pets that form tartar quickly or thosewith a history of oral problems, frequent examinations and cleanings may be advised.