When it comes to preventing dental disease, we have this to offer:

1.  Professsional cleaning & dentistry under anesthesia if needed.  This now includes the options of dental sealants and fluoride treatments.

2.  We have the new vaccine that prevents deep gum infection.

3.  We have some very effective toothpastes and brushless tooth gels.

4.  And finally, there are diets and supplements and special chew treats that help prevent tarter formation, strengthen gums, and fight mouth bacteria.  This page is about these diets, supplements and chew treats.



Special Diets

TD  Hills Tarter Diet:  this is a high tech food containing floss like fibers in a nugget.  We often recommend using just a few nuggets a day as a treat instead of as the main diet.  Super cheap when used as a treat ! 

Other premium diets have added ingredients that help promote dental health.  TD is the only diet, though, specifically designed for cleaning teeth.

Great when used as a diet as intended.  Low calorie and high fiber  too, so well designed for older pets.  And great when used as an inexpensive treat for all ages.

We'll be glad to give you free samples.

Oh, great for cats too.

Greenies

There are many brands of different chew treats and devices designed to help with oral health.
And most of them help to some degree.

But dental seminar speakers are giving high praises to Greenies as actually treating dental disease where as most other dental products are just an "aid to dental health"
And Greenies are rare in that they have earned the Veterinary Oral Health Council seal of approval (VOHC) in 2004. 

They’re certainly well liked by most dogs.  Lots of dogs go nuts when offered Greenies.

They’re quite expensive compared to Milk Bone type treats, but you might decide that the ease of use, the pleasure your dog gets in chewing these things, and, of course, the oral health of your pet is worth it.

Greenie Crystals are now available for cats too


Chlorhexidine Products:

Chlorhexidine is widely used in medicine as a germ killer safe to mammalian tissues and kills bacteria, fungi, and some viruses.  It also happens to be the most effective plaque-inhibiting agent used in human dentistry.  Once in contact with the teeth, it works well for about 24 hours, the only catch being that the contact duration needs to be at least several minutes for the agent to attach to the enamel.  There are several products designed to do this:

There are chewies and rawhide type products containing 10% chlorhexidine that work well.  C.E.T. Hextra Premium Chews is a common brand sold by vets that works well.  In this case, the rawhide chewing also provides the benefit of mechanical plaque removal.

We have several choices for sale at our clinic.


Hexametaphosphate and acetic acid products:  These agents are effective at binding mineral deposits and therefore preventing plaque from turning into tarter or calculus.  DenTee Stars and Chews…which also contain grapefruit seed extract and clove are examples.  DentAcetic Wipes are dental swabs are similar except instead of feeding your pet chewies, you swab the product on the teeth with these little wipes that fit over your finger tip.  Gels are also available.  I don't sell these particular products simply because I think the products we do sell are better.

Additional Comments:

Milk Bones and other similar biscuit type bones heavily advertised for “clean teeth”: 

I don’t know how effective these are.  One dental seminar speaker claimed they did more harm than good!  The mechanical removal of plaque from chewing something crunchy is good, but the ingredients of baked starch and fat is, while delicious to most pets, are ideal “food for oral bacteria” and that’s bad.


Ham Bones, etc:  The frequent chewing of bones is very helpful and good for the teeth.  And this should appeal to those of us who like that it's a natural thing to do. 

However, bone chewing can cause digestive upsets, bone splinters wedged in the roof of the mouth or cause serious damage further down the digestive tract. 
And bone chewing in dogs with really bad teeth could cause a jaw fracture.  So, exercise a little judgement and avoid bones that are prone to splintering such as cooked poultry bones, rib bones, etc.


Chew Toys, Chew Ropes, NylaBones, etc:  All these things help exercise the gums and to different degrees remove plaque. 

The main trouble with this type of thing is getting your pet to use them regularly, especially once they stop being puppies and become mature like me. 

Some mechanical methods of removing plaque such as playing tug of war with nylon rope probably help quite a bit if done regularly…especially if the rope is designed for cleaning teeth and coated with chlorhexidine or hetametaphosphate



Dental Chews & Special Diets




I haven't spent a lot of time on this page.  Yet.

It's just some comments about some of the many chew toys, chew treats, and so forth available for your pet at our clinic and elsewhere.

But that doesn't mean this isn't an important subject.

The regular use of the better chew toys and treats can really help keep teeth clean and gums healthy.

Find one that your pet likes ... or switch them around to keep your pet interested.

And pay attention to my comments about Hill's TD Diet.  Namely that when used as a treat instead of a diet, it's still helpful and very inexpensive.
And one of the few choices for cats.

Thanks,
Roger Ross DVM