Stinky Dog Breath part 2

Why should we be concerned about dental health of our pets? It’s not just for fresh breath and a great smile for Christmas cards. We have learned from human medicine that bad teeth can quickly lead to more serious health conditions. If you have every flossed your teeth a little too aggressively, you know that the gums have a very good blood supply. This means that every time you chew, you are potentially opening access to your bloodstream. Dogs with poor dental health will have large deposits of plaque, calculus, and nasty infection all along the gumline. Therefore, bacteria is entering the bloodstream of your pet every time they chew. This bacteria has a tendency to lodge in the valves of the heart, the kidney, the liver, and other organs. This can lead to heart failure, kidney disease, etc.
There are a few predisposing factors that can lead to dental disease. I already mentioned that some breeds have more problems than others. Large, long nosed breeds (Labrador and Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Weimeraners, Rottweilers, etc.) tend to not require as much dental care due to the alignment of their teeth and diet. Large crunchy chunks of dry food that these dogs are usually fed acts as a mechanical brusher of the teeth as they eat. Smaller dogs, such as Chihuahuas, Poodles, Shih Tzus, and others have more poorly aligned teeth which do not brush against themselves quite as well. Also, these dogs are more likely to be fed canned and semi-moist food which simply does not clean the teeth as effectively as dry food.
In this article, I introduced the importance of good dental health for your pet. In future articles, I will talk about steps the pet owner can take to ensure a nice clean mouth for their furry family members.