Teeth Cleaning

[Varga]

Has anybody here got any experience with non-anesthetic teeth cleaning with dogs? I know Taggart needs a professional teeth cleaning some time soon, but obviously it costs a lot of money to do at a vet's office. I heard that pet groomers also do teeth cleanings, so I thought that might be a good idea, at least for now, to get back in control of his bad breath. Any brushing or spray or gel just doesn't do much to get rid of his bad breath.
I just don't know if it's worth doing a teeth cleaning at a place like that though, since I'm sure they can't do as good a job as a vet doing it under full anesthesia, so maybe it's a better idea to just save the money and put it towards that...?

Also, do they even take dogs who fight the teeth cleaning? Taggart is a high energy dog and that high energy transforms quickly into high levels of anxiety if he's in an unfamiliar situation. He trusts me to prod and poke him and give him baths and brush his teeth... but it tooks months, even years, for us to get to this point. If it's a stranger doing those things? He will panic and he will bite. I don't even bother letting any veterinarians try and do an exam or whatever without a muzzle anymore. He gets so stressed that it's a lot more humane to just put on a muzzle and get it done and over with as quickly as possible... So yeah, I dunno if it's ever realistic to expect a pet groomer to do a teeth cleaning on him while he's fully awake and panicky :/

[pomtzu]

It is my understanding that dog groomers don't do anything more than brush their teeth anyway. You'd be better off just to keep brushing them yourself and put money aside for a cleaning at the vet.

[Freedom]

What Ellie said.

[Alysser]

We have done it to Mikey before, the groomers simply brushed his teeth. I am sure they did a great job, but I do that at least once a week anyway! Mikey also would never bite someone out of fear (at least humans!) so it wasn't a danger.

If there's a risk Taggart would bite, I wouldn't do it. I am not sure how much the Vet cleanings are but I'd just save up for that. They may be expensive but they are much more thorough and although not permanent they do last a lot longer! I knew someone who did it about every 6 months, so twice a year for her dog. Had the nicest teeth I ever saw!

[Taz_Zoee]

Zoee goes to the groomer on a regular (sort of) basis. And a couple times they have told me she needs to see a vet to have her teeth cleaned. I asked the vet about it and they did a scraping of her teeth, which was cheaper and without anesthesia. But if Taggart won't let someone else touch him like that then it probably would be best to get it done while he's under. I'm waiting for Zoee to have to go under for something else and I'll have them do a teeth cleaning at the same time. Unless her teeth get really bad, of course. And we are avoiding surgery on her leg right now too. So hopefully she won't have to go under for anything anytime soon.
My Taggart has the cleanest teeth I've seen on an adult dog, then again I don't go around checking dogs teeth. :p And they've never been cleaned, that I know of. I do give them carrots on a daily basis. That might help with some of the build up. ??

[kaycountrygal]

I agree with those who said "save your money & go to vet". At my local vet they a week set aside and it's called "Dental Week" and costs less during this time. Maybe your vet does that also.

[Taz_Zoee]

I agree with those who said "save your money & go to vet". At my local vet they a week set aside and it's called "Dental Week" and costs less during this time. Maybe your vet does that also.

February is National Dental Month. So my vet offers a discount that month. It's only like a 10% discount. But every little bit helps, right?

[robinh]

None of mine would even think of letting me brush their teeth. I tried and learned that was NOT an option. So I take each of mine in for a dental every year. Not all at once - my budget will not allow that, but about every 10 weeks somebody goes in for their dental. Molly the yorkie seems to lose teeth every so often time, but she's prone to it. The rest have great teeth.

[Varga]

Bugger. Looks like a vet teeth cleaning it is then. I hoped at least the groomers did somewhat of a more thorough job.
I don't think his teeth are that bad yet, I haven't seen him ever show any discomfort with eating or anything like that, so I suppose we have some time to work it into our budget. I know waiting too long is just going to get worse, because then he will most likely end up having to have teeth pulled and whatnot and that can't be cheap or very pleasant for him.

I do brush his teeth but I suppose it hasn't been good enough since plaque has still managed to build up :( I'm guessing one of the main reasons is that he simply does not like to chew things. Tiki went through at least half of her life without me ever brushing her teeth (because I just didn't know that that's something you do :o) and still her teeth looked better at age 12 than his do now and that was probably because she loved rawhides and anything she could chew. Taggart just doesn't have the attention span to chew on things for more than a few minutes... silly dog.

[*LabLoverKEB*]

No don't have a groomer scale your dogs teeth!! This is what they call 'gentle dentals'. They are very painful, and you cannot thoroughly clean sub gingivaly (under the gums) with an awake animal not under anesthesia! I believe there is a law being passed to make this illegal. I'd definitely save up and have your dogs teeth cleaned at the vets!

[Jessika]

I know it's already been said but I'll echo it: all groomers do is brush your dog's teeth. If s/he already has tartar build-up, the brushing does nothing. In order for brushing to be effective, you need to do it a minimum of 3-5 days a week (ideally 7 hehe) after their teeth have been cleaned at your vet, or starting as a puppy. And brushing really is not that hard to do; many owners think you have to pry their mouth open and fight with them to brush all sides of their teeth. We tell clients to use a finger brush, hold your hand around their muzzle to steady their head, and using an ENZYMATIC toothpaste (cleans "chemically" versus "mechanically"), just coat the OUTSIDES of their teeth very well with the toothpaste, and then pick up all food and water for 30 minutes after doing it. This not only allows the toothpaste to sit there and do its job, but it also promotes saliva production, which also helps clean.

If you're only going to brush once a month, you may as well not brush at all because it truly isn't beneficial (if we only brushed our teeth once a week, how good would our teeth be? hehe). You can chip off the tartar as it accumulates, but nothing beats daily brushing after a dental cleaning. Sadly, you do need to put them under anesthesia, because in order for us to clean every nook and cranny of their teeth (inside and out), and do a full mouth evaluation (those molars in the back like to go bad, and it's almost impossible to see it in an awake dog), plus extractions for bad teeth, they have to be under anesthesia. No dog (or cat!) will let you do that to them awake.

Oops, forgot to mention -- sometimes they will have gingivitis without tartar buildup. Our vets suggest dentals to pets with gingivitis, not necessarily if they just have tartar alone. Gingivitis means they're infected under the gums, and as previously mentioned the only true and best medical way to do that is to put the pet under anesthesia to properly clean under there. So just because you see tartar doesn't necessarily mean the teeth are bad, and vice-versa.

[Varga]

I know it's already been said but I'll echo it: all groomers do is brush your dog's teeth. If s/he already has tartar build-up, the brushing does nothing. In order for brushing to be effective, you need to do it a minimum of 3-5 days a week (ideally 7 hehe) after their teeth have been cleaned at your vet, or starting as a puppy. And brushing really is not that hard to do; many owners think you have to pry their mouth open and fight with them to brush all sides of their teeth. We tell clients to use a finger brush, hold your mouth around their muzzle to steady their head, and using an ENZYMATIC toothpaste (cleans "chemically" versus "mechanically"), just coat the OUTSIDES of their teeth very well with the toothpaste, and then pick up all food and water for 30 minutes after doing it. This not only allows the toothpaste to sit there and do its job, but it also promotes saliva production, which also helps clean.

If you're only going to brush once a month, you may as well not brush at all because it truly isn't beneficial (if we only brushed our teeth once a week, how good would our teeth be? hehe). You can chip off the tartar as it accumulates, but nothing beats daily brushing after a dental cleaning. Sadly, you do need to put them under anesthesia, because in order for us to clean every nook and cranny of their teeth (inside and out), and do a full mouth evaluation (those molars in the back like to go bad, and it's almost impossible to see it in an awake dog), plus extractions for bad teeth, they have to be under anesthesia. No dog (or cat!) will let you do that to them awake.

Oops, forgot to mention -- sometimes they will have gingivitis without tartar buildup. Our vets suggest dentals to pets with gingivitis, not necessarily if they just have tartar alone. Gingivitis means they're infected under the gums, and as previously mentioned the only true and best medical way to do that is to put the pet under anesthesia to properly clean under there. So just because you see tartar doesn't necessarily mean the teeth are bad, and vice-versa.


Yeah, that's basically what we are planning to do. Save up money for a full dental cleaning at the vet and then keep up with the cleaning at home and hopefully stay on top of it so it doesn't get this bad again. I'm also still looking for things he might be more enthusiastic to chew on, but so far I haven't had much luck. Thanks for the tip about the enzymatic toothpaste. :)

[Jessika]

Just for clarification, I've edited my post (thank you for pointing it out, Karen), but since it is quoted: I promise I did not mean for you to to put your MOUTH around your pet's muzzle, but rather your HAND. LOL

[SWHouston]

I schedule mine for a "formal" cleaning every two years. Sneakers second is coming up soon, and Becca's first.
Does anyone do it more frequently than that ?

[Jessika]

I schedule mine for a "formal" cleaning every two years. Sneakers second is coming up soon, and Becca's first.
Does anyone do it more frequently than that ?
We have some clients with smaller dogs (or greyhounds, they always seem to have horrible teeth!) that do need a cleaning every year. Sometimes it's because they aren't brushing their teeth, but more often than not it is just genetics, small dog mouths. But on average, once every 2 years, or maybe even less frequent if you brush every day!

[Varga]

Jessika, do you have a recommendation for an enzymatic toothpaste?

[SWHouston]

I looked up enzymatic toothpaste, but other than non-foaming, no rinse and flavored, is there anything better about it, other than a regular doggy toothpaste ?

[Jessika]

Jessika, do you have a recommendation for an enzymatic toothpaste?

C.E.T. is what we carry and recommend at work. I did a quick search and you can find it online at like amazon.com. It isn't too terribly expensive, either. You may be able to find it at your local vet or other stores in the area as well (I am unsure if they carry it at retail stores like PetCo or PetSmart).

http://www.virbacvet.com/products/DentalHealth/ToothpastesAndToothbrushes/C.E.T.PetToothpastes.aspx


I looked up enzymatic toothpaste, but other than non-foaming, no rinse and flavored, is there anything better about it, other than a regular doggy toothpaste ?

Enzymatic toothpaste uses enzymes to clean on a "chemical" level (I use the term "Chemical" loosely as it isn't technically a chemical but rather I am referring to the method of action, chemical vs mechanical [mechanical= how we brush our teeth]). With dogs and cats, they don't really stand still, nor do they necessarily tolerate, a tooth brushing long enough for a "mechanical" action to be effective. Therefore using an enzymatic toothpaste is easier on everyone, and it works very well too.

I hope all of that makes sense!

[Varga]

Thanks! :) I just bought a beef flavoured tube. I know Taggart will still need a professional cleaning but following your advice it should make home cleaning easier until then.

[SWHouston]

YUM YUM.. Vanilla Mint !

Sounds so good, it's tempting to get some for me ! :D

Thanks Jessika.

[Jessika]

Really glad to have helped! The vanilla mint is not a popular flavor at the clinic... Pets don't like it as much as poultry. I think it's more for us than them (I would rather smell my pet's minty fresh breath than her poultry fresh breath haha).

[SWHouston]

HA, yea, if they could only talk, they'd probably tell us to mind our own business ! :D (or mine would anyway)

My guys are little "Time Clocks", and regardless of the day of the week, are giving me numerous kisses (most times right in the eye) to get me up to go running by the Bayou.

I think I'll go with Mint, weather they like it or not. ;)