Guest The_Rooneys Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 I'm never really sure I'm doing it right or long enough. There are occasions when I try to go a little further back or higher up on the gums and when I'm done there looks to be some blood on the toothbrush. Is that normal/common. I would hate to think I'm hurting my dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lizmego Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 its pretty normal if your grey either has recessed gums or they are tender from not having teeth brushed before. How tartar covered are they? Do they look white or brown? How long have you had her? Has she recently had a dental? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The_Rooneys Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 The teeth look pretty clean. We adopted her in April. She's just turned 2 in May. It is just lately that I've felt maybe I'm not doing a good job of brushing her teeth. Nothing to give me that indication, just a feeling. So I've been trying to do what i think is a better job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest trevdog Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Use a cotton ball dipped in peroxide a few times a week on her gums. It will help with any gum issues and also help clean her teeth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MP_the4pack Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Take a look at her teeth in the very very back. I always thought Pearl had pretty good teeth until she had trouble. She had an abscess in the small tooth all the way in the back (first mis-diagnosed as myocitis) Then we tried to manage the abscess with antibiotics. It was holding the infection at bay but she was having kidney trouble and hypertension. We finally had to go in and take it out. (Because of her heart condition and uncontrolled hypertension, she was considered VERY HIGH RISK anesthesia). She survived the surgery. Her BP is stablized and she is feeling terrific. I highly recommend making sure all the teeth are in tip top condition. I brushed her teeth, averaging 5 times a week and missed the abscessed. Now I'm up to daily and sometimes twice daily if I can fit it in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahicks51 Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 If you're using the brush that came with your toothpaste (probably "Petrodent"), stop and put it aside. You can use that for taking the gunk off your BBQ grill later. For now, stop by Target or whatever and buy the softest, smallest adult toothbrush you can. Mechanically removing the tartar and other accumulated gunk should not be done with a stiff-bristled Nylon brush. The enzymatic pastes, such as Petrodent, work on a chemical level rather than physical- although there is still some scrubbing component, it's not so much the mechanical action as it is the enzymes. So- use the small, soft brush to get in there, and do it frequently! There should be signs of improvement within 3-4 uses, and as the tartar is removed, the gingiva will improve- and the bleeding should stop. If it doesn't, it may be too far advanced and a veterinarian should be consulted. A 1-2 minute scrub once or more often a week can save hundreds of dollars on more serious dental work! Quote Coco (Maze Cocodrillo) Minerva (Kid's Snipper) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The_Rooneys Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 I'm using the brush that was given to us when we adopted her. I would imagine it came with the toothpaste. I'm not scrubbing for even a minute but I do brush them every day. What is the recommened amount of time to be brushing? Thinking of maybe switching to a finger brush instead. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tigonie Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 I would agree with ahicks51--most pet toothbrushes are too stiff. It would be like brushing your teeth with an extra hard toothbrush, and most dentists recommend soft bristles for people. The finger brushes are more gentle. They usually have a bunch of rubber nibs on the finger tip. You may get better results with one, or as recommended above, you can buy a compact adult (human) toothbrush with soft bristles. I think you probably need at least 2 minutes of brushing to get all the teeth reasonably, about the same time it probably takes to brush your own teeth (minus flossing), give or take. I think the big thing is to make sure to reach all the dog's teeth. I have the hardest time getting Emma's lower teeth in the back, because she clamps down her teeth and they partially overlap with the top ones. The back ones seem to pick up the most tartar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lizmego Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Use a cotton ball dipped in peroxide a few times a week on her gums. It will help with any gum issues and also help clean her teeth. I've never heard of this and even though you may use this on your dogs, I don't think I would use hydrogen peroxide since it kills healthy cells and doesn't know to discriminate between bacteria and skin cells, but if your vet advised you to use this method, so be it. How about C.E.T. rinse? You can get that from your vet. Also, to make her gums stronger with each brushing you could try using gauze (like what you would use on a wound) wrapped around your finger with some pet toothpaste on it instead of the pet toothbrush which has harder bristles. I've also used toothbrushes that have sponge material on the end instead of bristles. You can buy these at hospital supply stores (got that handy tip from a nurse). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greycious_gal Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 I gave up on the brushes and started using a clean microfiber cloth. I'm not sure if I get every nook and cranny, but it's working well to my eyes. Of course, that's not the only tooth maintenance that I do. Vet was okay with the cloth idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest snakes Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 The CET toothpaste worked best for me. I was using a fingerbrush, but for ym girl with receding gums and visible roots it just didn't do the job properly. My vet when he heard iw as using the finger brush advised me to switch immediatly to a soft human brush, sometimes the childrens sizes are a bit more manageble in a little grey mouth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LancePearson Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 I stopped the finger and glove brushes and switched almost two years ago to a Double AA battery operated electric human Crest type cheap toothbrush for Kate. I do it weekly and also have a tartar removal tool you can get for humans at the drugstore. If I see any I gently scrape it off working from just under the gum line to the tip of the tooth. It is like calcium and takes a little effort to do if you see any. Vet says we are doing a great job and no cleaning is needed...just keep doing what we are doing. Two years shortly of this routine and the vet just checked her while under for a small surgery and they told me then she was doing great teeth wise with my routine. It's possible because Kate is so tractable and trusts me enough not to hurt her we believe. She sees me get the stuff out, knows what's about to happen and when I ask her to come to me to get her teeth brushed she does and stands facing me and I talk to her, let her smell toothbrush, toothpaste, put it on then put it on her front teeth and put my left hand in her mouth over her tongue with thumb beneath her lower jaw and start the brush at the small front teeth and work around on the outside then open her wider to do the inside and the back which are the hardest to see and get to. She isn't wild about this but she puts up with it and lets me look carefully while I'm doing it. She resists with her teeth on my hand but does not puncture...just keeps pressure on for whatever opening I force her to have and occassionally repositions her tongue then we reset and resume once that's done. Takes me about five or six minutes, she gets tons of praise and a treat post brushing. I could never do as thorough a job with the finger ones when I started with them. Tossed them out after two weeks. Lance, Karen and Kate Pearson...Kate's the grey and we work for her! Chester, Va. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The_Rooneys Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 Interesting. I didn't think of holding her mouth open and tongue down, I was just poking in from the sides after opening her mouth to get started. She is constantly trying to lick while I brush. Glad I asked this now before doing it poorly for too long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awkwanett1 Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 My dogs bled when I first started brushing, but they eventually stopped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SusanP Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 The more regularly you brush (ie: daily), the less bleeding you'll see. But it could be that there is tarter under the gumline and a vet cleaning would be in order. I used to work as a periodontal assistant, and we had patients whose bleeding gums improved so much just with better brushing, before we even did treatment on them. Those back teeth are probably the ones most often missed in the brushing, and sometimes we don't brush high enough on the gums--we need to brush those gums... but gently and with a soft bristled brush. I use good quality soft brushes sold for humans on my pups. If the dog is flinching away you are brushing too hard. You can build up pressure gradually if need be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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