Pet Dental Month

August is the Australian Veterinary Associations Pet Dental Month with this year’s theme being quality dental care is good medicine.  The idea of Pet Dental Month is to raise awareness of the importance of good dental health in pets, how to care for your pets teeth and to encourage people to take their pets to a veterinary clinic for a dental check up.

It is important for pets to have at least an annual dental examination.  If an animal has bad or unhealthy teeth or underlying dental problems it can have a detrimental effect on their overall health and wellbeing.  Poor dental health can lead to a number of serious conditions including liver, kidney and heart disease.  It can also be responsible for other problems like bad breath, excessive drooling, inflamed gums, pain or discomfort, chewing of different objects and changes in eating habits.  By having an annual dental check up it means that any dental problems can be detected early and promptly dealt with before it leads to any further health complications.

There are a few ways you can help maintain your pets good dental health health at home.  These include;

*  Brushing – use a specially designed toothbrush and toothpaste to brush your pets teeth which helps remove plaque and prevent tooth decay.  Dentipet Dental Paste for Dogs and Cats is a flavoured toothpaste which is ideal for use with a  Dentipet Finger Toothbrush.

*  Dental toys – give your pet some dental chew toys like Dental Kongs, they help stimulate saliva and gently clean teeth and gums and remove food and debris.

*  Dental treats – offer your pet some specially formulated dental treats daily like Feline Greenies, Greenies for Dogs or Pedigree Dentastix.

*  Supplements – give your pet a specially formulated oral care supplement like Vetalogica Canine Oral Defence, PlaqueOff For Dogs or PlaqueOff For Cats.  These help maintain good oral health, prevents tartar, gingivitis and bad breath.

*  Diet – speak to your veterinarian about whether it would be beneficial to change you pet over to a dental feed like Advance Dental or Hill’s Science Diet Oral Care.

*  Check-ups – don’t forget to regularly check your dogs teeth and mouth, as well as taking them for a yearly veterinarian dental examination.

*  Visit your vet – always remember that if you have any concerns about your pets health contact your veterinarian as soon as possible to discuss.

For further information on caring for your pets teeth read the Pet Dental Health article in the vetnpet DIRECT Help Centre.

So why not use Pet Dental Month as a reminder to get your pets teeth checked and keep them smiling!!

Until next time,
Bec