Greenbriar Animal Hospital

We advise a program of oral homecare for you and your pet. This may include scheduling a professional teeth cleaning procedure under general anesthetic; if your pet needs to have his/her teeth cleaned, you should wait until after the procedure to begin any brushing or application of Oxyfresh gel, but otherwise, start now. Pets inherit good or bad teeth and gums from their parents, so some individuals have lots of problems, while others have very few problems at all. Most cats and dogs need teeth cleaning by age 5 or 6. What can you do to help insure that your pet’s teeth and gums are healthy, clean, comfortable, smell good and remain pain-free? A lot!

Major tips for your oral homecare program:

Brush the teeth if you can – even doing this occasionally will benefit your pet. Daily brushing is the best. Use a Q-tip for cats and toy dogs, and a pet toothbrush for bigger dogs. Apply a small amount of Oxyfresh Pet Gel or other pet toothpaste to the brush and use a back-and-forth motion along the gumline. Most pets will cooperate if you go slowly and don’t try to open the mouth to look. Learn to do this blind! Ask us for a demonstration. For puppies, do not brush the teeth during teething (typically from 4 to 6 months of age) as gums can be tender.

If you can’t brush, use Oxyfresh Oral Hygiene Solution in your pet’s water bowl. Odorless and tasteless (work up to the full amount and measure accurately), it will help. It kills bacteria, decreases bad breath, and helps gingivitis, too. Carefully evaluate other brands of water additives as some flavor the water so pet’s drink less.

For cats, offer dental treats like Feline Greenies and Tartar Control Pounce. These can slow down tartar formation. Also try chicken jerky or dried salmon treats made for dogs – some cats like to chew on these!

For dogs, offer dental treats daily to weekly. Purina Dental Chews are great for smaller dogs, and you can use Greenies, rawhides, and other dental chews/treats, too. Almost anything your dog will settle down and chew on for 15 to 20 minutes at a time will help. Try a Kong with food inside. Some dogs don’t chew much, so you’ll need to be more aggressive with your oral care program (since they are not helping by doing lots of chewing)!

Use Oxyfresh Oral Gel and rub in on your pet’s gums daily. Even without a toothbrush, this can really help, especially if your pet has bad breath or gingivitis (red gums).

Prescription foods that are made to help prevent teeth and gum issues are very helpful, especially if you cannot brush the teeth. These foods help on a daily basis, and can make a huge difference for your pet’s mouth.

Miscellaneous helpful things to know about oral homecare for your pet:

Most pet owners choose two or even three of the above recommended ways to can help keep their pet’s teeth in good shape. The more you do (and the more often), the better the result. For example, if you can occasionally brush teeth, feed DH daily, and give a dental chew to your dog weekly, great. But if you brushed daily, fed DH, and gave a dental chew 2-3 times weekly, it would be better yet! Even if you are not able to do more intense care, just about everyone can do Oxyfresh in their pet’s water bowl and give regular dental chews or DH food.

Avoid all cooked (real) bones – they can cause lots of problems. Also avoid all (real) chicken, steak, fish, and pork chop bones – these can cause bowel obstructions and/or perforations. If you want to use fresh bones, get large beef bones and parboil first (submerge in boiling water, re-boil for 5 minutes, then remove and cool).

Hard plastic chews are OK for most dogs but some dogs break their teeth on them. Hard rubber chew bones are good. Tennis balls are usually OK but they can cause problems for dogs that obsess and chew on them for hours at a time (as some dogs will do).

If you are interested in the easy, hands-off approach to oral care, ask us for information and a free sample of Purina DH dry food for your cat or dog – it is yummy and also low calorie, so it is appropriate for most pets.