UNDER THE WEATHER Delaying Dental Decay

It's inevitable. He's got severe periodontal disease.

He's in pain and feeling nauseous because of the tartar. We need to do a thorough dental scaling under anaesthesia. Why anaesthesia? That is because we cannot possibly ask dogs to lie down quietly while we work on sensitive teeth and gums with the delicate instruments meant to clean subgingival (under the gums) tartar. Also left untreated, the bacteria in the plaque and tartar, especially the sub gingival tartar, can cause swelling, bleeding, pain as well as damage to other organs including the heart, liver and kidneys. After the procedure was over, the pet parent asked me to list out the possible ways of delaying the next dental scaling under anaesthesia. There are several ways you can do that:

1) Cleaning with a toothbrush and dog toothpaste:

Pets toothpaste is very different from human toothpaste, it is enzyme-based and pets can swallow it without any harm. Any standard medium-soft toothbrush may be used, or you can get a pet toothbrush that wraps around your finger. It is impractical to brush your pet's teeth daily, but it should be done at least once or twice a week.

2) Water additives: