TollHouse

My buddy, Max, is going on 5 years old and my wife and I have noticed that his teeth (especially his back teeth) have really discolored over the past 6 months.

It's obviously our fault since we share human food with him, a practice we've recently stopped, but I'm curious if anyone here has had any experience with taking your mutt into the vet for teeth cleaning.

Basically, I don't want to put the poor guy through it if it is only a cosmetic thing, and I'm just a little bit skeptical of the "free consultation" our vet's office is so graciously willing to give us.

DMB

I believe they do it under general anaesthetic. I should try giving him lots of bones first, just to see if that will do the trick.

scarmig

Yup. Been there, done that.

My dog never eats human food, but has very bad yellow and brown stains. We were strongly recommended to get him in for a tooth cleaning.

While they did clean up a bunch of the tarter buildup, they could do nothing for the stains. In 4 years he had developed zero cavities or problems other than just mineral collection on his teeth. They want us to bring him in once a year for a cleaning, but I sincerely doubt that is necessary.

IMO, a dog's teeth cleaning is only necessary if you can visibly see and feel the stuff that needs to be cleaned. If you rub a stained area of his tooth and it feels like smooth healthy bone... it's probably just stained and cleaning won't help. On the other hand, if you can feel rough buildup in the crevices (not that they have many), it won't hurt to have it looked at.

doghouse

It�s not just cosmetic, just like proper dental care in people is not just cosmetic. Several things are done with a good doggie dental. First, the teeth and mouth are examined for any problems, such as loose teeth, cracked teeth, and gum disease. The tartar (brown stuff) is removed from the teeth, including the portion of the teeth below the gum line. If you don�t do this, it leads to long term infection and gum disease, which in addition to causing teeth loss can be painful for the dog. Also, infection in the mouth can cause bacteria to enter the bloodstream and spread to other areas, such as the heart valves and kidneys. The teeth are polished to smooth out small defects which tend to accumulate tartar and the teeth roots are smoothed.

To do all this properly, the dog must be anesthetized. I would be wary of the �anesthesia-free� teeth cleaning. In some dogs, you can chip off the visible tarter without anesthesia, but you can�t properly treat the portions of the teeth below the gum lines, and I think it would be inhumane to try.

After that, it helps quite a bit to regularly brush you dog�s teeth. There are several types of toothbrushes available for dogs. This slows down accumulation of tarter, but won�t remove tartar already present.

doghouse

I would be cautious about giving a dog lots of bones. First, it won't remove tartar that has already accumulated. Second, if you think a dental is stressful, it's nothing compared to emergency abdominal surgery to remove a bone stuck in the gastrointestinal tract. Been there, done that.

Marduk

I give my dog one of those Pedigree brand Dentabones (TM) every week, and a regular Milk Bone (TM) every day. he is 10 years old and except for some slight yellow stains, his teeth are quite nice. That seems to work.

unpaid commercial endorsement

doghouse

Those are fine for helping to prevent tartar accumulatio. It's real bones (beef, pork, and the worse--chicken) that can cause problems.

Bad Kitty

I have four dogs: two have perfect teeth, one has so-so teeth, and one has crappy teeth. They all eat the same things every day (including detabones and Milkbones). None ever get table scraps. I think that like people, some dogs are lucky in the good teeth department and some ain't.

I used to have to take the one with bad teeth every year for the teeth cleaning. Now that he is older I'm nervous about him being under general anesthesia that often and try to stretch the time between visits out.

My vet is honest about when the dog needs a teeth cleaning and when it can wait. I'd suggest taking Max for a check...

By the way, I have a "Max" also, he is a Mini Schnauzer.

Good luck!

Michelle

TollHouse

Thanks for the replies, guys. We've stopped the table scraps cold turkey (much to Max's chagrin), starting brushing his teeth each day, and we're booking an appointment for him when we get back from vacation.

I just knew I'd get some good dog advice here. Why do infidels make such great pet people, anyhow?

sakrilege

It seems to me, that despite the fundy concern about evolution making animals of us, we tend to make humans of our animals because we now have more empathy for them.