It can be hard with our busy lifestyles to keep our pet’s teeth at the top of our list of priorities. Ideally, you should be doing something daily for your pet’s dental health. Our job here is to help make a plan for you and your furry family member to keep his/her mouth kiss-ably fresh! There are many products out there; it can be very confusing. We’re here to help make your decision easier and help to lengthen your pet’s lives.
Our staff are committed to creating a complete dental health care plan for your pet. This plan includes a dental health check up with the possibility of a dental cleaning to remove the tartar and plaque buildup on the teeth, and a Dental Home Care Plan. This Dental Home Care Plan includes demonstrations on brushing your pet’s teeth and recommendations for at home dental care products of VOHC approved dental formulas.
The gold standard for dental health is brushing your pet’s teeth. When thinking about brushing your pet’s teeth it sounds funny and overwhelming all at once. There are many tricks and tools that can help make it enjoyable experience for both of you! You’ll need a soft-bristled toothbrush and a pet formulated toothpaste so it is safe to be swallowed. We have two types of toothpaste. The first one is C.E.T.® Enzymatic Toothpaste formulated for daily brushing of your pet’s teeth. The flavours available are poultry, malt, and vanilla-mint. The second one is C.E.T.® Tartar Control Toothpaste which is available in beef and seafood flavours. It is designed for pets who are rapid plaque formers and has more scrubbing action.
There are also dental diets available to help reduce the tartar and plaque in your pet’s mouth. They have a unique kibble design for mechanical scrubbing action and ingredients to mix with the saliva to help against the plaque and tartar build up. In order to get the most benefit from these diets, they should be fed as the only food.
Another easy and effective way to improve our pet’s dental health is water additives. We recommend using HealthymouthTM, which is the first and only dental water additive that has been awarded the VOHC seal of approval. When you add this product to your pet’s drinking water it helps to clean the teeth and gums. It also helps to fight bacteria that cause bad breath. Healthymouth uses only natural and organic ingredients. Since recommending Healthymouth we have seen many pets mouths improve while using this product!
Another method of making your pet’s mouth more kiss-ably fresh are mouth rinses. I like to compare these to the idea of mouthwash; however, these products are formulated for animals so that it is safe for them to swallow a small amount. These are used once or twice daily to help to cut down on the bacteria in the mouth. These rinses aid in a pleasant-smelling mouth in dogs and cats by removing bacteria, pieces of food and other debris from the teeth and gum line.
Finally, you can us dental chews as a treat for your pet with the added benefit of dental health. Some of the ones that we carry are: C.E.T.® VEGGIEDENT™ Tartar Control Chews , C.E.T.® Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews for Dogs, C.E.T.® HEXTRA® Premium Chews for Dogs, C.E.T.® HEXTRA® Premium Chews for cats and Royal Canin Medi-chews for dogs.
The more you can do at home for your pet’s mouth, the more your pet will benefit from it! It is never too late to start a dental care plan for your pet and we are here to help tailor the plan that best suits you and your pet’s needs!
