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Health Topic: Dental Cleaning

Why is it important to have a dental cleaning performed on my pet? Coyotes do not need dentals.

While it is true that our wildlife species do not go in for regular cleanings, their survival span is much shorter then our domesticated dogs and, therefore, can rely on their prey to keep their teeth clean. By chewing on the bones of their prey, the abrasion of bone on teeth will scrape away tartar and plaque. This can often cause fractures of the teeth, however, so we do not recommend it for domesticated animals. Instead, having your animal’s teeth examined by a veterinary care professional will give an initial evaluation of any problems. We look for amount of tartar and plaque, gingivitis, discolored teeth, and fractures. However, once we have a pet under anesthesia, we can perform a complete dental exam and take x-rays. Often, we will find other periodontal issues not apparent on the initial exam. We have had some pet’s teeth that look healthy on the outside of the mouth, but find that there are deep periodontal pockets on the inside of the mouth.

My dog has a fractured tooth. What can be done to help him out?

While some dogs will not fracture their teeth on “real” bones, most will. Even some of our synthetic bones are so hard that a pet cannot break them without a tooth fracture. Most fractures will be an open fracture of the tooth. Bacteria will get inside and eventually cause a root tip abscess. This is very painful and can cause the pet to act sick and lethargic or maybe not eat at all. The best way to take care of an open root fracture is to have endodontic procedure (root canal) performed to remove the live portion of the tooth and disinfect the root canal. After this is done, the root canal can be sealed with an endodontic sealant. This preserves the tooth and prevents infection from the crown to the root tip. It also can preserve the pet’s normal chewing surface, as long as the entire crown (exposed tooth surface) is not completely fractured off. These cases would require a crown replacement and diligent oral care.

In situations where an endodontic procedure is not possible, extraction of the tooth is the next best thing. This procedure does not maintain a normal biting surface, as if the tooth was there, but it should prevent any infectious process from developing and will take care of the pain.

How do I keep my pet’s teeth clean?

This all depends on you and your pet. Brushing the teeth is the gold standard. Ideally, this is performed daily for 1½ to 2 minutes, but some brushing is better than no brushing at all. Treats and dental foods can also help. These foods help to abrasively remove the plaque during the normal course of chewing by the pet. They unfortunately do not work on the front teeth at all; only the back molars and premolars. Solutions added to your pet’s drinking water and mouth rinses will help with the bad breath and reduce the bacteria in the mouth, but they will not remove plaque or tartar. However, all of these products help benefit the patient between brushings and should be part of their regular dental care. To best help your pet out, scheduling routine cleanings when recommended by your veterinary care professional.

Why does my dog’s breath smell like poop?

Well, the first thing to find out is if your pet is eating poop. Let us assume they aren’t. Odor of the breath comes from three different places: the mouth, the stomach and the lungs. If your dog has a lot of tartar and plaque on his teeth, it will contain lots of bacteria that produce gasses as waste product of the bacteria’s digestion. This will give your pet bad breath and means they need to have their teeth professionally cleaned. If your dog has troubles digesting its food or they are extremely gassy, the bad breath may be coming up from the stomach/intestines that are not digesting properly. In this case, trying different foods with a gradual switch would be the recommendation. If your dog has a metabolic problem, i.e. kidney disease, liver disease, etc., then often the lungs will act like a filter and allow waste products to escape as the animal breathes. The best thing to do is go to your veterinarian for a comprehensive exam.

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