Dental Health

If you ever want to see us develop a twitch when asked a question, ask us something about the teeth-cleaning ability of kibble. First, you...

where the left and right sides of the mouth are mismatched. That upper canine should be right behind the bottom canine. Instead, the bottom canine is crashing into a top incisor. The rest of her top incisors are actually hitting the bottom of her mouth! This pup will need major dental work.üüOuch! This molar has suffered significant gingival (gum) recession and exposed the roots. Immediate extraction is warranted.

Of course, you can't just pick up your own tube of human toothpaste and start brushing your dog's teeth. Just like our dogs don't have the same dietary requirements as we do, dog toothpaste differs from toothpaste for people in several ways. It's important to use a toothpaste made specifically for pets

facial and otherwise. The beard

What is the worst part about these strikingly common conditions dogs get? They are all entirely preventable. Obesity, periodontitis, and overgrown nails affect more dogs in the United States than any other diseases, and can be just as harmful.

veterinary dentists say they are responsible for far more than their share of broken molars in dogs who chew them. Large bones

Cooper, my service-dog-in-training, trotted briskly at the side of my power wheelchair as we headed to the veterinary clinic, a mile from home. He was overdue for a routine dental cleaning, and my regular veterinary clinic was not within rolling distance. I decided to take a chance on a new vet, since it was just a standard dental cleaning. I dropped him off and rolled back home, relieved that I was finally able to afford the procedure.

The good news: you can give your dog a thorough brush job in just two minutes a day. The bad news: few dogs fancy having their teeth brushed, and there ain't no Holy Grail of Canine Tooth Brushing, despite my attempts to extract one from Angela Mees, DVM, who owns a practice limited to veterinary dentistry in suburban Atlanta.

and some of her deciduous incisors (front teeth). Some of her adult incisors are emerging

Many raw dog food diet proponents claim that the nutrients and/or chemical composition of a raw diet keeps dogs from developing gingivitis or periodontitis. We’re not aware of any studies that have proven these claims, but the persistence of the anecdotal evidence of this phenomenon (to say nothing of its evolutionary success) suggest that there are dental benefits to a diet that includes raw, meaty bones.

Many people think of their dog's chewing as just a puppy thing" but the fact is

Between runs at a recent agility competition, I was chatting with Katie and Nora, a couple of handlers I often see at trials. Coincidentally, all three of our dogs had received an annual health examination from our respective general practice veterinarians recently, with all dogs earning good reports. And all three of us had been told by our veterinarians that our dogs had broken or chipped teeth. My veterinarian had noted a slab fracture of the upper fourth premolar" on the health summary report for my 10-year-old Border Terrier