The reason I am mentioning it is that there have been a great many studies (both human and animal) on the correlation between tooth decay and heart disease. I figure an ounce of prevention will save me heartache and money in the long run

Yeah - that's what my vet was telling us! We had Jake's teeth cleaned a couple of years ago. He's probably due for another cleaning soon. Toby (cat) had his cleaned recently and had an absessed tooth that had to be pulled. The vet said that just keeping their teeth clean can really make them live longer.

Jake and Max were eating Katie's kittie litter before we rehomed her. I think that's why their breath got so raunchy. I'll brush their teeth again tomorrow - maybe they just have a lot of bacteria in their mouth from that. If they still have bad breath I'll get their teeth cleaned.