Although February is National Pet Dental Health Month, your pet’s dental health is important all year long. Why so much emphasis that a whole month is set aside to promote dental care? Don’t my cat’s teeth just look worse as he/she gets older? Dog breath is just bad, right?
Nope…your cat can have nice teeth and your dog’s breath doesn’t have to make your hair stand on end! And, more important than just being able to avoid tuna breath or yellow/brown choppers, keeping your pet’s mouth healthy is important to their overall health. Below are the five top reasons to make sure your pet has regular dental check-ups and cleanings:
- Caring for your pet’s teeth can prevent other health problems saving you money over the long term! The bacteria that builds up in your dog or cat’s mouth goes through the entire body each time they eat, drink, or just swallow. This can cause problems with their heart, liver, and kidneys over time.
- Did you know 4 out of 5 dogs over 3 years old have some sort of periodontal disease? Periodontal disease means the gums and tissue that hold the teeth in are infected and the roots that hold your pet’s teeth in are starting to lose some of their bone structure. Left untreated, this causes teeth to hurt and they must be extracted, or they hurt until they fall out. And only a dental cleaning, under anesthesia, allows for cleaning tooth surfaces under the gum line where bad things (plaque, tartar, infection) may be hiding.
- Pets are very good at hiding pain – you might never know your pet has a serious dental problem until it’s very advanced. Your pet may only be chewing on one side of his or her mouth or swallowing food whole…they’re hungry, they’ll eat in some way even if it hurts.
- Teeth wear out! Pets are tough on their teeth. Severely worn teeth hurt and can break. Dental exams can check for this and you may be able to switch to softer chews or, if the wear or break is severe, the painful teeth can be removed.
- Better breath = better relationship. It’s much nicer to snuggle with a dog or cat that doesn’t gross you out with bad breath.
All our pet health exams include a dental assessment and our veterinarians’ suggestions for good dental care. We also offer free dental exams! We’ll give suggestions about how to care for your pet’s teeth at home, too.
With all our dental cleanings your pet also goes home with a bag of sample dental care products. Toothpaste, dental rinses, enzymatic chews…. once you have that clean canvas we want to keep it as clean as possible and stretch out the time between professional dental cleanings.
Call us today at 303-674-3156 to book that dental cleaning you’ve had on your “to do” list!
