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Practice closures, changed consulting hours or short announcements appear here as soon as there are any. Below you will find a guide from our consulting room.

Dental health in dogs and cats

A guide from our consulting room – timeless, not tied to a particular date.

Do you know the feeling? You love your cat or dog dearly – if only there weren’t that unpleasant smell coming from the mouth. Yet keeping an animal’s teeth in good order can be simple. If we humans never brushed our teeth, what would our mouths look like?

Through food. Dry food is generally considered better for dental health, because chewing abrades the tooth surfaces. There is also dental food whose texture cleans as the animal eats, and chew sticks. The latter have one drawback: they contain calories. For overweight animals a low-calorie option is the better choice – or a disinfecting drinking-water additive.

Brushing. There are toothpastes made for cats and dogs that are safe to swallow. Flavours such as chicken or fish help with acceptance. You can apply the paste with a toothbrush or a cotton cloth. Applying it is good; proper brushing is better. What matters is getting the animal used to it slowly and patiently.

Professional cleaning. Humans are advised to have their teeth cleaned twice a year. Dogs and cats age faster, so the intervals should be shorter. The easiest way is for us to check during the annual vaccination appointment.

Poor teeth are not only unsightly. Bacteria from the mouth enter the bloodstream and damage the heart, liver and kidneys among other organs. And they mean pain – even when an animal shows no obvious symptoms.

A dental check you can do at home

• · Is your animal eating or chewing differently, or avoiding hard pieces of food?
• · Is it drooling heavily or bleeding from the mouth?
• · Does its mouth smell unpleasant?
• · Are the gums reddened or bleeding?
• · Are any teeth missing? (A dog has 42, a cat 30.)
• · Is there visible plaque – especially at the back?

If you answer yes to any of these, we are glad to take a look. A condition in the mouth is then likely.