[Dailydrool] National Dog Dental Mouth

[Jennifer Martin]

February is always Dog Dental Month. So, I want to take this time to remind
everyone how important dental health is to our bassets. Brushing is the
very best way to maintain dental hygiene in our beloved bassets. Virbac CET
toothpaste is always highly recommended. What I like about it is that it
comes in so many flavors. My trio loves the vanilla mint. I do as well.
There is something about brushing teeth with poultry and them having
poultry breath that is less than satisfying to me. Having said that, our
very first rescue was Elwood. He was 7 years old when we adopted him. He
learned to tolerate having his teeth brushed, but it was poultry or
nothing. Beauford, Bugsey and Browyn the Fairy Princess all have numerous
food allergies, so vanilla mint works well. I have found a toddler brush to
be much easier for me to handle than a dog tooth brush. They are also much
more affordable. I buy a 12 pack from Amazon and they run a $1 a piece.
THey also come in different colors. So, I know who's toothbrush is whose. I
recently started brushing teeth 2x a day. Why on earth did I do that? Well,
Beauford's heart is simply not as strong as it once was. So,, the vet and I
want to avoid doing another cleaning under anesthesia if possible. I really
can see the difference.

Keep in mind that you cannot use human toothpaste on your dog. The foaming
agents are not good, and you really can't get your dog to spit out the
flouride laiden toothpaste. Dog toothpastes work in one of two ways. Some
have enzymes in them and the enzymes will work on the plaque even if you
don't get a good brushing done. Just getting the paste smeared on the teeth
in a haphazard fashion will still manage to do good. Others are a bit
grainy and work through scrubbing off the plaque. CET is an enzymatic
toothpaste. Check to see what you are using. I found a
watermelon-strawberry toddler toothpaste to use in the evening. If you go
that route, you need to be very careful! Obviously it needs to be
fluoride free. You also need to make sure that it does NOT contain any
Xylitol! The one I found is very mildly abrasive with no SLS, Parabens,
Fluoride, or xylitol. The first time I used it, they were not too sure
about the flavor. Now they are fine with it. I find it knocks off a little
more plaque, at least out of Bugsey's mouth. I also like that it saves me a
little money as it is much cheaper than CET. I still use both!

I hope everyone will take a good look at their dog's teeth and start
brushing regularly. Also, go ahead and book those teeth cleanings if needed!

Jennifer with Beauford, Bugsey and Browyn the Fairy Princess
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