Canine Dental Care

There is an email thread today at work about the best advice for dental care. I will summarize it here.

• Why: You should brush since there is bacteria that may cause heart or liver disease in canines. Periodontal disease is also very common among dogs (85% of adult dogs have this disease - it is by far the most common disease among adult pets)
  
• Frequency Recommendation:
• once a day
• official cleaning by vet once a year
• Options to brush
• We use the self-brush toothbrush with Petrodex chicken-flavored toothpaste every day. Cody loves chicken flavors so it's a treat all by itself (and it gives Cody something to do while I'm in the shower)
• Once a week, I use a finger brush and get into the nitty gritties (the gums, the back and front of teeth, etc.). If you decide to use a finger brush, I recommend doing it on a regular basis. I've heard many dogs dislike using the finger brush, but I've brushed Cody's teeth at least once a week since he was 2 months old, so he's used to it by now. That's my recommendation for all things grooming.
• Additional Dental Treats
• We use sterilized bones, pressed rawhide bones, hooves, and Greenies (Cody doesn't choke on them. You want to be careful when introducing a dog to Greenies because of the dangers of choking)
  
• Other Options (That Cody currently does not use but was discussed via email)
• DentaTreat (it's a white powder that you sprinkle on the food. It supposedly cleans a dog's teeth and gums)
  

If you need more tips on how to actually brush, I found a great article on WikiHow:
http://www.wikihow.com/Brush-a-Dog's-Teeth

Here's a page from with more information about the importance of canine dental hygiene:
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=C&C=217&S=1