Your pet’s health and well-being hinge on several factors, including nutrition, parasite preventives, nutrition, and uncompromising dental care. Keeping your furry pal’s teeth clean and healthy is crucial for disease prevention, but daily dental hygiene is sometimes overlooked as a significant part of pets’ health care. Through veterinary dentistry advances and pet owner awareness, we can promote lasting dental health for your four-legged friend. Our Bartow Animal Clinic team explains why dental health is essential to your pet’s well-being and how you can improve your furry friend’s oral hygiene.

Advantages of pet dental care

Your pet’s dental exams and daily oral care are critical to their healthy, beautiful smile, but the benefits go beyond the obvious. By promoting your pet’s excellent dental care, you can be instrumental in: 

  • Improving your pet’s breath — Pets’ initial dental disease sign is foul or fishy breath. Although your pet’s breath may never smell like a bouquet of roses, dental hygiene and a high-quality diet help improve your furry pal’s mouth odor.
  • Preventing pain and discomfort — Imagine how uncomfortable chronic toothaches or sore gums feel. Sounds awful, right? Pets experience the same pain as people do when they have an untreated dental problem. Maintaining good dental hygiene can prevent your four-legged friend from suffering unnecessary pain and the complications that cause such discomfort.
  • Preventing dental disease — Dental disease (i.e., periodontal disease) is the most frequently diagnosed health problem in cats and dogs, with an estimated two-thirds of all pets affected by age 3. Dental issues can range from mild tartar buildup and gingivitis to severe problems such as tooth decay, infection, and abscess. When you attend to your pet’s dental care, you can stave off these problems and keep your furry pal’s mouth healthy. 
  • Preventing systemic disease — If your pet’s dental health is poor, this not only affects their mouth. Dental disease can also impact their organ health. Untreated oral inflammation allows bacteria to travel through the bloodstream to the body’s organs, including the heart, liver, and kidneys. Untreated dental disease is linked to valvular heart disease, pancreatic disease, or worsening systemic inflammatory conditions, blood infections, and possibly sepsis and sudden death. 
  • Improving your pet’s quality of life — Pets with healthy teeth and gums can eat, chew, and play without pain or discomfort, which improves their quality of life. Without dental disease’s secondary complications that cause pain, your pet feels healthy and happy. 
  • Increasing longevity — Wouldn’t you love to add years to your precious pet’s life? You can! By caring for your pet’s dental health, you can help them live a longer life. Dental disease can take two to three years off a pet’s life span. Preventing dental disease and addressing any issues promptly can prevent your pet from developing severe health problems later in life.

Supporting your pet’s dental health

So, how can you keep your pet’s teeth clean and healthy? Our Bartow Animal Clinic team recommends the following tactics:

  • Brushing your pet’s teeth — At first, pets often won’t tolerate toothbrushing, but this routine is imperative. Regular toothbrushing removes plaque and prevents tartar buildup, the dangerous combination that leads to periodontal disease. Use a pet-specific toothbrush and toothpaste, and aim to brush your pet’s teeth several times a week, if not daily, which is optimal. 
  • Providing dental chews and toys — By providing your pet with dental chews and toys, you help them rid their teeth of plaque and tartar because chewing is a natural form of toothbrushing. Look for products specifically designed to promote dental health such as those with the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) seal on the package. The VOHC only recommends high-quality dental treats and products. 
  • Feeding a nutritious diet — When you feed your pet a healthy diet, you promote their dental health. Some diets are specifically created to promote pets’ dental health. Our Bartow Animal Clinic team can recommend diets that promote your pet’s unique needs, including prescription diets. Nutrients are health’s building blocks, and your pet’s well-balanced diet not only benefits their dental health but also their overall well-being. 
  • Scheduling dental exams and professional cleanings — Dental exams are necessary for our team to assess your pet’s teeth and gums, perform professional dental cleanings, and address dental problems before they worsen. These exams offer you the chance to ask questions about your pet’s oral health and work with your veterinarian to achieve your furry companion’s optimal dental health. 

Your beloved pet deserves a long, healthy life, and by prioritizing their dental care, you can help them achieve this. Schedule your pet’s dental exam and professional dental cleaning with our Bartow Animal Clinic team.