Oral disease is extremely common and very harmful to the health of your pet. This article should help everyone learn the appropriate steps to better the health of their pet's oral health! Feel free to visit another great site with more information at: www.petdental.com

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You love your pet, and you also take good care of your pet.   However, did you know that your pet's oral health is just as important as yours?  Pets have dental diseases and problems just like you do.  Most problems can be solved when Mobile Pet Medical Care makes a simple visit to your house to perform regular dental checkups.  Included in this article are some preventive steps you can do at home.

Dental Disease

When cats and dogs are 3 years old, 85% of them have gingivitis, or gum disease. When they are 6 years of age, 85% of them have periodontal disease, where bone around the tooth is actually being dissolved away by the bacterial infection. This represents one of the most serious health problems for our pets in this country. Most pet owners are just not aware of the tartar buildup on theirs pets teeth and that it is leading to serious consequences.

The gum infections and especially the periodontal disease allow bacteria to enter the blood stream on a regular basis. The bacteria in the blood stream end up in certain locations. The kidney is one of the most common places since it is a filter for the blood stream. The bacteria get into the kidney and attempt to start an infection. Usually the infection does not get too far, the body's defense mechanisms eliminate the infection right away. But, a kidney cell or two were lost and they are replaced by a small amount of scar tissue. No big deal, the kidney has a 75% reserve capacity, which means that 75% of the kidney can be lost and the kidney will still do the job it is supposed to do, getting rid of the body's toxic wastes. When more than 75% of the kidney tissue is lost the impurities of the body start to build up and the patient begins to develop the toxic state of renal failure, or uremia. Loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, listlessness and weight loss are the usual symptoms that show up. The kidney damage is permanent. Then the patient needs to receive extensive treatment for the rest of its life.

The heart valves are another favorite place for the bacteria to start growing. The infected heart valves get thickened and do not perform well. They do not close completely and blood leaks past the valve. The normal sound of the heart valve closing, the two short sounds of lub-dub are replaced with a single long sound or a heart murmur. The blood pressure decreases since there is a leak in the heart valve and before long, congestion builds up in the lungs which marks the beginning of congestive heart failure. Pets with congestive heart failure are in serious trouble and need medical care the rest of their lives.  The bacteria from gum infections can affect other parts of the body, too. Serious consequences result from joint infections such as permanent damage to the joint and arthritis.  By now you should be impressed with the damage that can be done by gum infections. And the odds are that you have no idea that any of this is happening unless you look at your pet's teeth. If you see that the gums are reddened or swollen, then you want to have us look at them to see if a dental cleaning should be done. Contact Mobile Pet Medical Care and have us come and examine the gums for you. If you have been wondering why your pets breath has a bad odor, it's likely that the odor is from some degree of gum disease.

All of This Can Be Prevented

Does your pet have bad breath or reddened gums?  If so, it could be from gingivitis. Gingivitis occurs when soft plaque hardens into rough, irritating tartar.  Tartar build-up on your pet's teeth can cause damage to the teeth and gums.  If left untreated, gingivitis can lead to an infection called periodontal disease.  This disease can cause the loss of teeth.  You can prevent serious dental problems from happening by making sure your pet receives routine annual dental exams. When dental disease is found, then you schedule a dental cleaning with your veterinarian.

Regular Cleanings

When your pet is admitted for the day to get its teeth cleaned it will begin with a physical examination. This is important to evaluate your pet's general health. After the physical exam, your pet is given a sedative; and then anesthesia is administered for a safe and painless sleep during the dental cleaning. The first part of dental cleaning requires the removal of tartar with a dental scaler. Your pet's teeth are polished, creating a smooth surface. The gums are washed with an anti-bacterial solution to help delay tartar build-up both under the gum line and on the crown of the tooth. We will inspect each tooth and its gum with magnification to be sure all the tartar has been removed. Some teeth may require extraction if badly infected, but that is better than leaving them in the mouth to spread infection.

CHEWABLES

What can be done at home to prevent tartar build up and gum disease? In the wild your pet would kill a prey. After eating the "good stuff" it would end up chewing on the hide of the animal and the bones. This would be cleaning its teeth. This activity helped prevent tartar build up, though it did not eliminate it. One report by dentists that examined animals in the wild found that periodontal disease was the number one cause of death in wild animals. If periodontal disease developed in a wild animal, they ate less due to the discomfort, or in fighting off their infection they used up some vital energy. The end result was that they reduced their chances of outrunning their predator, and they were the first to be caught.

Domestic dogs usually do not have this means to keep gum infections from developing. In dogs, we can offer them substitutes however. Rawhide, in any form, is very beneficial for gum massage and tartar control. Recently, Friskies researched the effects of rawhide on tooth care and they found that rawhide was much more beneficial for the gums and for tartar control than dog treats like "milkbones". Pig ears are now available from pet stores and are an alternative to rawhide. As a dog chews on the rawhide or pig ears, the material gets soft and becomes a great massager of the gum tissue.  There is a potential problem with the knotted end of a rawhide bone. If swallowed whole it could remain in the stomach. The best form of rawhide then would be a strip or other unknotted type.

Better yet for tartar control seems to be harder things for a dog to chew on. But the very best material is a raw bone. Veterinarians have always recommended that you avoid feeding bones to your dog. They have meant, no cooked bones. When a bone is cooked, it gets hard like a rock. Dogs can crack their teeth when they chew on cooked bones. Cooked bones can splinter and the sharp edges can produce damage. When cooked bones get into the stomach, they are very hard, or impossible to digest. Raw bones on the other hand are softer and do not damage the teeth, do not splinter, and can be digested when they are eaten.

So the very best tartar control for the dog is a raw bone. One veterinarian who specializes in dentistry has a recommendation that is worth repeating.  He recommends that dogs get dry food fed to them dry and crunchy and then one day each week they get no food, the get a raw bone to chew on all day. We do not think that withholding food from the animal is really necessary, but you may choose to withhold food if the animal shows little interest in the bone.  A bone and a dog can equal a mess!  Keep your dog in an area that can get a bit messy when he/she chews on his/her bone.

Household cats do not usually chew on things like dogs do, so we have more of a problem with controlling their tartar and gum disease. "Mousers", those cats that routinely catch mice and other critters, usually have clean teeth and healthy gums. They chew on the parts of the prey that keep the teeth clean.  Some companies are beginning to make products for tartar control in cats. One such product is the CET Cat Chews; a freeze-dried fish product that reduces tartar build up. But, the best would be to brush their teeth every day.  Cats develop cervical neck lesions on their teeth. These lesions are very similar to cavities in people and seem to be more common in cats that have a lot of tartar on their teeth. While it is not clear how cats get the lesions, it seems to make sense to keep the tartar from developing and to have us clean the teeth when the tartar has built up.

Brushing Your Pet's Teeth

The most effective method to prevent tartar build up in our pet's teeth is usually brushing their teeth daily.  Brushing breaks down the daily deposit of plaque before it hardens into tartar.  To begin a brushing routine, we recommend using something tasty. Putting something on your finger that your pet likes such as Tuna juice, especially for cats, or peanut butter for dogs, and letting them lick it off. Offer them this flavor treat several times a day and then start rubbing their teeth with your flavored finger. hopefully they will begin to look forward to you taking care of their teeth. Next you can wrap a gauze square or wash cloth around your finger and use it like a toothbrush.  Wipe all the teeth, front and back, with a back and forth movement. As an aid to brushing their teeth, keep your pet's mouth closed.  By using one hand around the muzzle to keep the mouth closed and to steady their head, you can use the other hand to do the brushing.

Once your pet is getting used to you rubbing its teeth with your finger, you can start by using a "soft" toothbrush. If your pet puts up a fuss, try dipping the toothbrush in warm water and garlic salt, for dogs, or tuna water, for cats. Your pet will love the taste and you'll have a better response to the toothbrush.  After your pet accepts the toothbrush, squeeze a small amount of special dog or cat toothpaste onto the brush. Never use human toothpaste as it will irritate the dog or cat's stomach and cause foaming at the mouth or vomiting.  Begin by brushing the front teeth. Then brush the large upper and lower teeth in the back. The bristles should be held at a 45-degree angle to the tooth surface and be moved in an oval direction. Be sure to scrub in the crevice where the gums meet the teeth as this is where odor and infection begin. Brushing teeth daily is the best suggestion; you cannot overdo this important health care step.

Give Your Pet Complete Dental Care

Annual veterinary dental care and home dental care will help keep your pet's breath fresh and gums and teeth healthy.  Your pet's smile and healthier life will be equaled by your smile and pride in a job well done.

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