New Vaccine For Dental Problems

[Guest brindlebunch]

One of my guys has very bad gingivitis. He was at the vet today for blood work in preparation for a dental. My vet mentioned a new vaccine called porphyromas that is supposed to help fight the bacteria that cause gingivitis. It is relatively new - my vet has only used it on about 50 dogs so far. Does anyone else know anything about this or used it for a greyhound? I'm always leary of new vaccines and medications, so probably wouldn't consider it for my guy until it is more proven, but am hoping to get additional information if possible.

 

Thanks!

[Guest crazy4greys]

My vet knows about it but is reluctant to use it until it has been out awile. He said he doesn't want to use his clients pets as guinea pigs.

[galgrey]

I'm also leary of new vaccines and over-vaccinating in general. I asked my vet (mixed practice traditional/holistic) about it a few weeks ago since my newest girl, Princess, appears to be one that's going to dental issues. He felt it was too new for him to feel good about recommending it. He pointed out that all the hype about it was written by the manufacturer -- kind of like all the praise for the Gardisil vaccine that was being pushed for young girls by Merck. Now, sadly, several girls have died ....

[Guest Ola]

We've talked about it a few times on greytalk. The general consensus was that it's really new and someone even pointed out that the manufacturer hasn't proven that it works. Personally, I'll let other people be the guniea pigs, not my dogs.

[Guest greybookends]

I know at least one member of GT who had a hound react badly to it. If you contact macoduck she can tell you about her experience.

[macoduck]

Here's my post about Gracie's scary reaction to the dental vaccine:

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showto...=dental+vaccine

 

I will never, ever, let any of my dogs get that vaccine again.

Edited June 20, 2007 by macoduck

[greytdogsks]

My vet also has a concern that when a person gets this vaccine for their dog, they won't need to do any thing else to assist with dental health (I know, a majority of people DON"T do anything now .. but ... ). Also, the fact that it hasn't been used in the general canine population long enough to really know if it works or what might happen. I think I'll just keep brushing.

 

 

[Guest Cris_M]

Just thought you ought to hear from someone whose dog had the vaccine....

 

We adopted our first grey from our vet. When he got leukemia (pancytopenia) and died less than a year after we adopted him, our vet was almost as devastated as we were. When we got Duncan, our vet needed to do everything possible to "insure" Duncan would be healthy for a long, long time. So, without any research on my part, Duncan got the dental vaccine.

 

Duncan had no problems with the vaccine. His teeth are beautiful. However, he also moved to a raw diet so there is no telling how much the vaccine does or does not help.

 

Will I revaccinate him when the time comes? No. I think I will see how raw feeding by itself works for dental health.

 

Would I give it to Duncan if he had serious dental issues (the kind raw feeding and regular dental care couldn't take care of) that could be waylaid by the vaccine? Yes. But, then, he has already had the vaccine once and had no reaction to it.

 

Have you tried something like raw turkey necks to see if they help with your pup's teeth?

 

 

[Madeara]

My vet knows about it but is reluctant to use it until it has been out awile. He said he doesn't want to use his clients pets as guinea pigs.

 

That is how my vet feels as well.

 

[Houndmommy03]

My Silver has nasty teeth so when the vet recommended the vaccine I said yes without researching it. Meanwhile I checked here (like you have) and read that most people are not in favor of it. So...Silver has had it with no problems but I doubt I would do it again.

 

Kim

[VinnieAndRexsMom]

We've talked about it a few times on greytalk. The general consensus was that it's really new and someone even pointed out that the manufacturer hasn't proven that it works. Personally, I'll let other people be the guniea pigs, not my dogs.

I was asking my vet the last time this came up at GT, which was maybe a couple of months ago, and he said it was still in the trial phase. So, available, yes, proven, no ... working on proof, and like others already wrote, "Not with my dog."

[Guest brindlebunch]

Thanks for all the information shared so far.

 

I do some dental prevention at home. I use Aquadent in the drinking water. Several nights a week everyone gets a bully stick (usually), greenie or rawhide (occassionally). I try to brush 2 or 3 times a week. I have also used Oravet on Tyler, the hound I am writing about.

 

I have 8 hounds. They don't all need dentals every year, but it fell last fall such that they all did at that time. I have been doing all of the above things since October. Despite that, Tyler had already stopped eating (dry Canidae) because his mouth was so sore only 7 months after his dental. I soak his food in water and now he swallows it without trying to chew. He has very red, very swollen gums that bleed every time I brush them. He also has sores in other areas of his gums from the severe gingivits.

 

The stuff above has been working. It is possible that none of my other pups will need a dental this year! But Tyler has always had bad teeth and they aren't getting any better. My vet and I talked about scheduling Tyler for dentals every six months, and he let me know that the vaccine existed.

 

I have not tried turkey necks. I got some once, but they were so gross I couldn't give them to my dogs. I used to be a vegetarian, and I can't even eat cooked chicken on a bone. Although raw is great for those of you who can do it, it just isn't a good option for me. But I am willing to try almost anything else! Actually, I'm willing to try that, but someone else would have to give it to them and clean up all signs before I returned!

 

Tyler's case is so severe that this vaccine might really be helpful for him. I won't give it to him at this time, but hopefully it will become more widely used so that it will be an option for him at some point. Tyler will only be 9 years old in October, so we will be battling this for a while.

 

I appreciate everyone's feedback!

 

[Burpdog]

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showto...=dental+vaccine

 

As I said before, just say no

[SAVED2]

+

Our Maggie has always had gingivits , to heal the red gums that keep reoccuring we have found that if you put hy. peroxide on a cotton ball and wipe the gums and teeth it will heal the odor and take away the red we do this 3 days in a row about every 3 weeks , our vet agrees with this and we have been going it for 6 years , there are others doing it also , there is no cure for gingivits.

[Guest TBSFlame]

Our vet said it might be useful on young dogs that have no problems yet but would most likely not help dogs with teeth problems.

[Guest Ola]

Well, I'll tell you my story about feeding raw. We got our grey in October and he had a dental just before we adopted him along with his neuter. By Feb his teeth were getting dirty and around March he had nasty, stinky breath, lots of build up on his teeth, and the gums were getting red. We started feeding raw in April and his teeth have cleaned up completely and stayed that way (this was almost 3 years ago). There is a bit of tartar on the top of his canines because they don't get used much, but his gums are healthy so it's not really a concern. Raw was gross and scary to me when I first started, but I'm SO glad I did this for my pups.

 

This is not to say that you NEED to feed raw, or raw items to have healthy teeth - you don't. And some hounds have naturally great teeth that will never have major problems. But if your hound has the bad luck of having nasty teeth, you need to take care of them because the infections that develop in their mouth can spread to the whole body and cause major problems. If you're not willing to give raw items for chewing, regular tooth brushing will clean their teeth up also, but it's recommended to do it daily. Honestly, I think you should grit your teeth and give them some turkey necks (or chicken leg quarters, or any number of other items, you may find some that are less offensive to you). I promise that you get used to it (I'm not a veggie but eat only the occasional chicken breast or piece of bacon, so I totally hear you on the "meat is gross" front!). Your dogs are carnivores and they're eating meat whether it looks like meat or not. Personally, these days a chicken leg groses me out a lot less than a chemically processed rawhide or bully stick (ewww! poor bull!), but then I am a little bit strange.

[Guest bayvista]

My boy had an unpleasant reaction to his second dental vaccine. Neither of my greys will ever have another injection! My vet thinks I am over-reacting but my greys are too important to risk.

[Burpdog]

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showto...=dental+vaccine