How to brush your dog's teeth

About Dog teeth

Adult dogs belonging to most breeds have 42 teeth, 20 of which are upper, 22 are lower. Four pointed canines are used for tearing food, the front 6 upper and 6 lower small incisors are for grabbing it, the side teeth are for chewing. Among dogs from the group of decorative breeds, incompleteness is often found, that is, they lack one or even several teeth.

As with most mammals, permanent dog teeth are formed in childhood in place of falling out baby teeth. This process begins, as a rule, at the age of 4 months of the animal. It proceeds quite quickly and ends at the end of the 7th month of the pet's life. The care of milk and permanent teeth has its own characteristics.

About the need to brush your teeth

Systematic care of dog teeth is important not only for the aesthetics of your pet's exterior and the elimination of the repulsive "aroma" coming from his mouth, but also for the prevention of various diseases of the oral cavity. First of all, brushing your teeth reduces the risk of tartar formation, which provokes caries, periodontal disease, stomatitis, gingivitis, abscesses. A number of diseases of the oral cavity can acquire a chronic form, which, in turn, poses a danger to the work of the cardiovascular and immune systems of the animal's body.

The cause of tartar is the formation of soft plaque, which gradually hardens, so only the emerging plaque must be removed. Usually teeth are cleaned 1-2 times a week. However, many animals have a predisposition to the transient formation of tartar, among them – poodles, cockers, representatives of the group of terriers, as well as dogs with malocclusion. Daily hygienic manipulation can be shown for them.

No matter how often you brush your dog's teeth, this procedure is not a full-fledged "guard" against the occurrence of dangerous pathologies in the oral cavity. Inflammatory processes can be associated with improper nutrition of the animal, or be symptoms of other, more serious internal diseases. However, during the dental treatment of the "patient", you will be able to detect the first signs of inflammation in a timely manner. The first thing that should concern you is the constant smell from the mouth of the animal, which does not disappear even after the dental procedure, as well as redness of the gums, bumps, tumors, bleeding. Noticing such symptoms, hurry up to go with your pet to the veterinarian.

How to teach a dog to brush his teeth

Brushing the dog's teeth using special toothpastes should be done at the time when she turns 7-8 months old. During this period, her permanent teeth will have time to completely replace the milk ones. Up to this age, dogs do not need to brush their teeth as such, but the point of these manipulations is to accustom the pet to the procedure in advance. To do this, the process is imitated, letting the dog understand that caring for her mouth is not an execution.

Some puppies with an easy-going nature do not mind when the owners periodically gently rub their teeth with gauze soaked in warm water. However, most pets at first desperately resist. Rebels need a special approach, coupled with cunning – they should be interested by demonstrating what benefits they can get if they show obedience.

In order for the hygienic procedure to be associated with pleasant moments in the puppy, proceed as follows: cook a light beef broth, without salt, vegetables, or other components, cut the meat into small cubes, wrap gauze or cotton wool on the index finger and dip a tampon into the broth. Sit back, take the baby in your arms, let him sniff the fragrant matter, gently open the dog's mouth and gently, in circular movements, wipe the dog's teeth without pressing them with your finger. During the procedure, pronounce the word "teeth" clearly and confidently. If the baby behaves calmly, gently encourage him with the words "good", "well done" and treat him with meat slices. If the puppy starts to squeal, release its sharp claws or tries to bite you, do not reward him with a treat.

As the puppy grows up and gets used to brushing his teeth with gauze or cotton wool, you can introduce the dog to the smallest toothbrush with soft bristles. Do not forget that before the complete change of the pet's teeth, you should only imitate their cleaning, which means that all touches to the jaws should be very gentle, without the slightest effort.

A dog, accustomed to the hygienic treatment of the oral cavity since childhood, will eventually tolerate systematic brushing of teeth with the use of special means. This will also cause less trouble to the veterinarian if you happen to contact him with questions concerning dentistry.

Cleaning the dog's teeth at home

Among the dog care procedures, brushing teeth is not the most difficult at all. Knowing how to properly implement it, any owner in most cases will be able to maintain oral hygiene of his pet without much effort and time.

First you should go to the pet store to choose a toothbrush and toothpaste for dogs there. The brushes are different in size, and you can easily pick up the right model. They differ in a variety of shapes, they are traditional – with bristles, or flexible rubber with soft teeth. Among the brushes with bristles, those models where the bristles are natural and ultra-soft are the most comfortable for dogs, however, in cases when the plaque on the dog's teeth has managed to harden, it is necessary to give preference to tools for brushing teeth with stiff bristles. They should be used with extreme caution, avoiding injury to the gums. The brushes are usually accompanied by nozzles – ring finger pads designed for the index finger.

The range of toothpastes for dogs is quite wide. Judging by the reviews of animal owners, the following brands are popular:

• Harts Dental Beef Flavored (USA). Tube (85 g) – 120-140 rubles;
• Canine Tooth Past 8 in 1 (USA). Tube (90 g) – 220-240 rubles;
• Beaphar-Dog-a-Dent (Netherlands). Tube (100 g) – 230-250 rubles;
• Gimborn Dental Care with liver flavor (Germany). A tube (50 g) – 360-390 rubles.

Please note that it is unacceptable to clean dog teeth with a paste intended for humans. Being effective in terms of plaque removal, it nevertheless includes additives that, together with foam, can enter the animal's body, causing disturbances in the digestive system or serious allergies. In some cases, too much foaming of the "human" paste can lead to suffocation of an animal that instinctively swallowed the foam. The paste, specially created for dogs, does not foam at all, and even if the dog swallows part of it, it will not do him any harm.

You will also need gauze. It is used for soft cleaning of teeth – a delicate procedure, appropriate if plaque is removed systematically and does not have time to harden. This is the simplest method of cleaning, in which the gauze is simply wrapped around the index finger, then a small amount of paste is applied to the cloth and massaging circular movements alternately treat tooth by tooth, easily affecting the gums.

If the formed plaque cannot be removed in the way described above, you will have to use a toothbrush. To remove a slightly roughened plaque, use a tool with a soft bristle, in advanced cases, a brush with hard bristles will be required. When using the latter, your movements should be extremely careful: even healthy gums can bleed with excessive pressure on them.

Before starting the procedure, slightly moisten the brush, then apply toothpaste on it. Lift the dog's upper lip and slowly, in a circular motion, clean the outer side of the teeth – first on one side, then on the other. Try to clean the far side teeth as thoroughly as the front ones. As practice shows, it is on them that the raid is most pronounced. Try to grab the back of your teeth with brushing, despite your pet's objections – this part of the procedure, as a rule, angers the dog the most.

At the end of the hygiene session, the excess paste should be removed with a wet gauze or cotton swab, because your pet, unlike you, is not able to rinse his mouth. Swallowing the paste will not be very pleasant for him, and this will cause him uncomfortable associations with the process of brushing his teeth.

Brushing the dog's teeth is recommended 2-3 hours after feeding. Approximately the same time should precede the next meal.

Cleaning the dog's teeth with ultrasound

Even the most responsible owners who never forget to treat the oral cavity of their pets and do it regularly, veterinarians advise every two years to carry out such dental manipulation to their pet as brushing teeth with ultrasound. If you noticed that closer to the gum, the dog's teeth began to acquire a brownish hue, and it is impossible to remove it with a brush, you should contact a specialist immediately, since this sign indicates the formation of tartar in the animal. You will not be able to delete it yourself.

In specialized clinics, the dog is relieved of tartar with the help of an ultrasound scaler. Ultrasonic manipulation allows you to radically clean the dog's teeth, removing plaque even in the most inaccessible places from the outside and back. To carry out such a procedure, it takes an average of half an hour to an hour and a half, it is carried out with or without anesthesia. Whether your pet needs anesthesia will be decided by a specialist, but the last word is yours.

As a rule, calm, teeth-brushing dogs either do not need anesthesia, or they are given a mild sedative. Wayward and capricious patients may be recommended sedatives + local anesthesia. Unpredictable, particularly aggressive animals undergo the procedure under general anesthesia, which is selected individually after conducting a detailed clinical blood test. Small dogs of decorative breeds that tolerate anesthesia very poorly are swaddled, rigidly fixing them on the table.

The cost of cleaning the teeth of a dog in the clinic – from 2500 rubles. The procedure can be carried out at home. In a number of clinics, calling a doctor at home is free and included in the total cost, others estimate such a service at an additional amount – from 500 rubles.

Dry food as a means for brushing teeth

There is an opinion that feeding a dog with high–quality dry food is an excellent prevention of tartar. Some veterinarians agree with this, others believe that with such a diet, the rate of its formation simply decreases two to three times. Still others are skeptical of this statement at all.

Justifying the benefits of feeding dogs with dry food, the following arguments are usually given:

• after eating dry biscuits, a very small amount of food remains in the gaps between the teeth, which limits the nutrient medium for the development of bacteria;
• the size and texture of dry products is such that animals somehow have to bite it, digging their teeth deep into it. Thus, there is a mechanical removal of plaque.