August in National Pet Dental Month

Dental health is the most common form of disease in cat and dogs with 80% of dogs and 70% of cats showing signs dental disease by the age of three.

Dental Month Offers!
☺Save 10% with a dental scale and polish “smile package”. Only for the month of August.
☺Get a free Hills collectable mug with any bag of T/D food (see below).
☺Get a free gift with every bottle of aquadent

 

What makes our Pets Smile

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“This is what will happen if you don’t look after your teeth…”

Dental disease starts as accumulation of plaque and calculus on the surface of teeth (see above picture). Calculus contains calcium deposits from saliva and food material, and harbors bacteria.

Bacteria infect the gums, causing reddening and gingivitis. This causes gums to become inflamed and painful, and they easily bleed with chewing. The gums then start to recede causing exposure of the tooth roots.
If untreated, gingivitis progresses to periodontitis—with bacteria eating away at the periodontal ligament which holds teeth in place. This leads to loosening of teeth and eventually tooth loss.

That’s not the end of it. Bacteria can then invade the bone around teeth leading to osteomyelitis (bone infection). This causes softening of the bone and can lead to bone fractures or abscesses.

Finally infection can spread through the blood stream to vital organs causing organ disease or sepsis (bacterial infection of the bloodstream).

Signs of dental disease

· Bad breath

· Red gums

· Eating on one side of the mouth

· Pain on eating

· Loss of appetite

· Loose teeth

· LIFT THE LIP - HAVE A LOOK
Text Box: Feline Dental Disease Cats suffer from dental disease also. As well as periodontal disease like dogs, cats can develop ‘feline oral resorptive lesions’ or ‘neck lesions’ . The tooth becomes eaten away, often at the gum-line and required removal. Oral hygiene is the best way to prevent feline oral resorptive lesions. Text Box: Treating Dental Disease Generally if pets have significant dental calculus then only a dental scale and polish will remove it sufficiently to prevent re-adhesion of plaque. Cats and dogs need a general anaesthetic to facilitate scaling. Using a state-of-the-art ultrasonic dental scaler we remove calculus (and bacteria), and the polish the teeth to remove fine calculus and ensure the teeth are smooth. This prevents re-adhesion of plaque. If too much gingival recession is present, or if teeth are becoming loosened—tooth removal is best. This is done with plenty of pain relief and usually antibiotics.

Brushing

Yes brushing. Brushing is the best way to reduce calculus and plaque on teeth. A finger tooth brush is best used, as less pressure is applied to the gum. Chicken and Beef flavoured pet toothpaste helps brush, as pets appreciate the flavour.

Pets should be slowly introduced to the concept of brushing. Initially just let them lick some toothpaste off your finger. Then gently brush your finger (with toothpaste) over the gums and eventually using a finger brush, gently brush the teeth.

 

Chews

Hills TD is a complete and balanced food (available for dogs and cats) which features larger kibbles, designed to clean teeth as they eat. The specially designed fibre matrix cleans the visible tooth surface as pets crunch on the biscuits. Also highly recommended.

Greenies are great! They are a tasty dental chew  which pets love, and clean the teeth at the same time.
Greenies are available in sizes for all breeds of dogs. We recommend a greenie a day for dogs to keep the vet away!
Feline greenies are loved by cats! We recommend about 4-6 greenies per day to help clean cats teeth. Many cats that won’t eat chicken wings and necks love greenies!
Please note: Feline Greenies are expected to be available again in early November

Raw meaty bones will help to keep the back teeth clean. Raw chicken wings and necks are good for little dogs and cats (if they will eat them), and marrow bones are ideal for larger dogs who will simply swallow chicken wings without even chewing.


 

Helping our Pets Smile

Help your pets smile by looking after their teeth. Brushing pets teeth regularly, is the best prevention for dental disease (just like people). Following a dental scale and polish, is the ideal time to keep teeth clean with regular care.

Even with great dental hygiene, most pets require a dental scale and polish every year to two years, especially as they get older.

Aquadent

Aquadent is a new product to the veterinary market in Australia. It is a tasteless additive to pets water, which contains an antibacterial product xylitol. As pets drink their drinking water, aquadent reduces the adhesion of bacteria in the mouth and hence reduces dental disease—like mouth-wash but better tasting.