[Dailydrool] anti Plaque solutions

[Anthony Burges]

Dear Jackie,
As a dentist (although a human one) I would always be interested in anything
that eliminated plaque but I suspect there isn't really anything out there.
I would think that the formation of plaque in dogs is very similar to
humans- basically a combination of bacteria and food particle left on teeth,
plaque is soft and easily removed by brushing (which I have done on Douglas)
and  flossing (which I haven't tried on him). Tartar/Scale/calculus- call it
what you will- is the hard deposit that forms from mature plaque and has to
be scraped off, remove the plaque and basically remove the scale won't form.

Most mouthwashes are useless except as a breath freshener- it has always
amused me when people on the Drool suggest Listerine as a means to get rid
of the smell of basset pee-  at last I thought we had found a decent use for
the product because it is next to useless in the mouth, I have so much
sitting around maybe I could market it for that use.

The only ingredient easily available that can really affect plaque formation
by chemical means is Chlorhexidine- here most often seen in Colgate's
Savacol but there are others around depending on where you live- taste is
pretty bitter so if your dog is like  mine he is unlikely to be
cooperative,(if it tasted like Chicken on the other hand.......) and it
stains teeth, may not worry the bassets that much but people aren't keen on
the two pack a day look. I know the vets always like something hard to chew
on and the lord of this house thinks he should live on chicken wings and he
doesn't get much build up. 
A number of tooth paste manufacturers make pastes that supposedly slow the
formation of scale and you could try them, as dentist we have had products
in the past that "soften" tartar to allow easier removal- I wasn't overly
impressed with them and doubt they are easily obtained if they still exist

On behalf of Douglas down under

Anthony Burges BDS, FRACDS, FICD.
Dental Surgeon
176 Victoria Road
Drummoyne NSW
2047
Australia
ph     0298197277
mob 0414740266

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Message: 8
Date: Tue, 4 Jan 2011 18:12:13 -0500
From: jacquelynn chazey <aerogator27 at hotmail.com>
To: <dailydrool at dailydrool.org>
Subject: [Dailydrool] anti plaque solutions for bassets
Message-ID: <COL121-W9AF05985EE7853DFE30B8BC080 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"


Dear Experts,
I am pretty sure this has been discussed already, but I wonder if anyone can
advise me about anti plaque solutions.  The air waves are being blasted
about a spray to reduce plaque, but I am a skeptic.  I also know that there
are solutions sold that can be put in the water bowls.  My sister is willing
to scrape the hounds to the best of her ability, and she does have skills,
but she thought I should research plaque softeners to make her job easier.
It is that or putting them under at the Vet.  Once clean, I need to develop
the habit of brushing.  I was keeping up with it very well until Mom started
getting mad at me thinking I was hurting them as her dementia progressed.
Now that I am getting back into my routine now that she is at Assisted
Living, I feel that this is important.
Happy New Year to all

Jackie and the herd 		 	   		  
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