Would a Nylabone clean them up? He doesn't mind having his teeth brushed but they don't seem to get clean.
Michael
Teeth Cleaning....
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Mntngoat
Teeth Cleaning....
Anybody have any suggestion on how I can get Rex's teeth clean? He is only 17 months old and want to make sure he has them for his entire life.
Would a Nylabone clean them up? He doesn't mind having his teeth brushed but they don't seem to get clean.
Michael
Would a Nylabone clean them up? He doesn't mind having his teeth brushed but they don't seem to get clean.
Michael
Last edited by Mntngoat on Tue Jun 05, 2007 1:44 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Chaingang
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Once the tartar has taken hold the brushing won't help much. Have them cleaned by your vet and then follow regular brushing or allow chewing on a regular basis. Nylabones are fine if your dogs will chew them. There are all kinds of dog treats that are advertised for keeping the teeth clean. Some are rather expensive though. I give large compressed rawhide bones or an occasional beef knuckle to my dogs which usually takes 3 days to a week to finish. I allow an hour a day to chew it then take it away. This seems to do an adequate job in keeping the tartar away for the most part.
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Chaingang
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I used to scale the dogs teeth with a scaler. I mentioned that to my vet one day and she told me that when you do this it leaves tiny little pits or scratches in the tooth enamel or something to that effect, which she said will allow tartar to adhere to even worse. Ida know, makes you wonder how the vet does it?vzkennels wrote:If your dog will hold still for it you can buy a tooth scaler & clean the tartar off your self.I have a couple dogs that will let me but have some I wouldn't even attempt to.The ones that let you cut their nails with out a fight will usually let you scale their teeth off.
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Mntngoat
Chaingang wrote:I used to scale the dogs teeth with a scaler. I mentioned that to my vet one day and she told me that when you do this it leaves tiny little pits or scratches in the tooth enamel or something to that effect, which she said will allow tartar to adhere to even worse. Ida know, makes you wonder how the vet does it?vzkennels wrote:If your dog will hold still for it you can buy a tooth scaler & clean the tartar off your self.I have a couple dogs that will let me but have some I wouldn't even attempt to.The ones that let you cut their nails with out a fight will usually let you scale their teeth off.
The Vet probably polishes the teeth after he/she has removed all the tartar. Much in the same way your dental hygienest (sp?) will do your teeth.
My dogs have pearly whites...
All my dogs have pearly whites; I feed raw, meaty beef rib bones and the natural abrasion of gnawing the bones does the trick! JMHO! I was told adding cheese to the kibble would do it - the enzymes in the cheese, or just a raw diet - but I find its the gnawing on the bones that does the trick. I also have a tooth scaler - I got it at walmart in the pharmacy section, as the french bulldogs have really strange shaped heads and the bones (or any chew device) only work to a point -and the scaler works just fine. It comes with directions to avoid pitting the teeth or screwing them up! I have heard that only a vet should do it.. but its the vet techs that do it, and they won't be learning on my dogs, thank you!
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Wagonmaster
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Wolfing food can contribute to tartar build up. My home dog has her teeth cleaned about every three years, she hardly gets any build up at all. She is a picky eater, a little at a time through the day. She has to mind her figure.
The trial dog eats on a stakeout with 20 other dogs, and when the food pan hits the ground it takes them only a minute or two to down it all. He needs his teeth cleaned yearly by the vet.
The trial dog eats on a stakeout with 20 other dogs, and when the food pan hits the ground it takes them only a minute or two to down it all. He needs his teeth cleaned yearly by the vet.
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Mntngoat
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Wagonmaster
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I understand it to be from several reasons. It can be genetic - bad teeth/teeth that collect tartar quickly, seems to run in familes (at least what I have heard from breeder friends) and also it could be, according to one friend's theory (so take it with a grain of salt please) is that pups that have a bad start or sickly start, wormed repeatedly and treated with antibiotics early on - are predisposed to bad teeth.
Don't know what is true, this is just what I have been told.
Don't know what is true, this is just what I have been told.
hmmm...one would think I could clear up the questions in this thread since i'm in dental school, BUT since I just finished my first year I guess I really don't know all that much yet----check back with me in a few years!
Here's what I do know about the varying rates of plaque buildup based on HUMAN dental information I've learned:
Genetics: can play a role in the sense that whatever strains of bacteria the mother has in her mouth will be passed on to her offspring when she kisses (licks in a dogs case) her offspring. If she has particularly virulent strains of bacteria then her offspring will "inherit" them and be more predisposed to plaque buildup, decay, etc.
Antibiotics: certain antibiotics administered during critical periods of tooth development can have very detrimental effects. For example, this is why tetracycline is not given to pregnant woman or young children, it can cause enamel staining and hypominerlization (less enamel mineralization leads to weaker teeth more susceptible to disease). I actually just looked this up and the net says dogs have the same susceptibility to tetracycline as humans do.
As far as scaling goes, they let us do it on each other (my classmates and I) and we did not have to get a polishing afterwards. I would think that as long as you are not applying an unreasonable amount of pressure you would not pit the enamel significantly, enamel is extremely hard.
Another interesting fact I just ran across...anybody ever wondered why we have to brush our teeth daily but dogs never do and they're ok? We asked a teacher this one day and he had no clue, but I just found something on the net that says dogs have a much higher salivary pH than humans. The more basic saliva buffers any type of acid (the stuff that breaks down our enamel and causes decay) much more effectively. Kinda neat.
Here's what I do know about the varying rates of plaque buildup based on HUMAN dental information I've learned:
Genetics: can play a role in the sense that whatever strains of bacteria the mother has in her mouth will be passed on to her offspring when she kisses (licks in a dogs case) her offspring. If she has particularly virulent strains of bacteria then her offspring will "inherit" them and be more predisposed to plaque buildup, decay, etc.
Antibiotics: certain antibiotics administered during critical periods of tooth development can have very detrimental effects. For example, this is why tetracycline is not given to pregnant woman or young children, it can cause enamel staining and hypominerlization (less enamel mineralization leads to weaker teeth more susceptible to disease). I actually just looked this up and the net says dogs have the same susceptibility to tetracycline as humans do.
As far as scaling goes, they let us do it on each other (my classmates and I) and we did not have to get a polishing afterwards. I would think that as long as you are not applying an unreasonable amount of pressure you would not pit the enamel significantly, enamel is extremely hard.
Another interesting fact I just ran across...anybody ever wondered why we have to brush our teeth daily but dogs never do and they're ok? We asked a teacher this one day and he had no clue, but I just found something on the net that says dogs have a much higher salivary pH than humans. The more basic saliva buffers any type of acid (the stuff that breaks down our enamel and causes decay) much more effectively. Kinda neat.
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GsPJustin
Is what happens to my pup is he will eat and the food will sit in his mouth and the tartar builds up. Not sure why, I tried brushing his teeth regularly and it didn't seem to do the trick so I just have a few different types of teeth cleaning bones, some rawhides etc to let him to it himself. It has gone down now. And same with the bad breathe. I also use a tooth scaler if it gets really bad. You might want to take him to the vet and get them cleaned once and then start over, they are beginning to look pretty built up there.
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huntoverlabs
My labs an agressive chewer. Not destructive but agressive. I started using a large Nylabone with the knobby ends once I noticed some tarter buildup. She goes through one of these 'indestructible' bones once every two months. It has nearly eliminated the tarter. She also gets 4-5 rawhide chips a week as well for a treat. The bones work but they aren't cheap, @ $15/ea.