85 percent of pets have periodontal disease by 3 years of age. It is the leading health problem found in our pets and can pose serious short- and long-term health concerns, beyond just bad breath, oral pain, and a generalized decreased quality of life.
In a normal mouth, the teeth are clean, pearly white and the gums attach smoothly to the tooth. There is no redness or tartar, and your breath smells great! The tooth is bathed in saliva, bacteria, and food particles but if this is brushed away, it never mineralizes into tartar. However, if we do not regularly disinfect our mouths and brush away the plaque, the plaque will mineralize into tartar. Tartar is solid and gritty and covers the crown of the tooth. This creates inflammation and blocks oxygen from bathing the outer tooth, which changes the nature of the bacteria in the mouth. This new bacterium eats away at the attachment of the tooth and surrounding bone. The result is periodontal disease. Even worse, this new type of bacteria can seed to other areas of the body leading to infection in the heart, liver, kidney or virtually anywhere the bloodstream carries it. The body is constantly fighting spread of the infection.
Fortunately, there is a lot we can do to prevent periodontal disease, and the rules are ones we are all familiar with, whether referring to us or our pets: professional cleaning and at-home care. You can generally expect once your pets reach 3 to 4 years old, they will need a professional teeth cleaning every 12 months. General anesthesia will be necessary for each tooth to receive proper attention and care. Additionally, home care is ideally a daily part of tooth maintenance but even brushing just twice a week can remove most plaque before it can mineralize into tartar. Clearly not every pet is amenable to hands-on oral care though, nor is every person’s schedule amenable to it, so for those cases, there are some lower maintenance options as well.
It should not be surprising that dental health requires regular professional cleanings regardless of whether the mouth in question belongs to a person, a dog, or a cat. Home care of the tooth is never perfect and periodically tartar must be properly removed and the tooth surface properly polished and disinfected. The professional cleaning performed at the veterinarian’s office is similar to what a person receives at their dentist’s office. Large tartar is removed with specific instruments, then the periodontal sockets are probed and measured to assess periodontal disease. The roots are planed, meaning tartar is scraped from below the gum line until the roots are smooth again. Then the enamel is polished to remove any unevenness left by tartar removal. Finally, the mouth is disinfected and possibly treated with a fluoride sealer or plaque repellent. After the cleaning, professional notes are taken on a dental chart, noting abnormalities on each of a dog’s 42 teeth or a cat’s 30 teeth.
Once the oral health exam has been performed, at- home care becomes important to maintain a healthy mouth. Daily brushing is recommended, but studies have shown that even twice weekly brushing is enough to significantly reduce the amount of plaque buildup in your pet’s mouth. In addition to brushing, there are dental wipes, rinses, and pads, as well as preventative gels, dental treats and diets that aid in oral health. The Veterinary Oral Health Council is an organization that evaluates dental products, and their website is a good resource to help guide you on available options.
Too often our pet’s dental health is overlooked and attributed to a normal amount of “stinky pet” breath and nothing more. Unfortunately, this can not only affect their oral health, but it can also have serious systemic health consequences. If you have any questions or concerns or want to discuss this further, your veterinarian can answer your questions and help assist you in keeping your pet healthy for many years to come.
