Laddies Gums Bleed When I Brush His Teeth

[Guest amn70]

Hi Everyone,

Had a question. My dog Laddie had his teeth done by Houndstooth, the non-anesthetic dental cleaning service, in September. Everything came out great. Prior to and even since then whenever I brush his teeth for some reason his gums always bleed. Prior to Houndstooth I sorta understood it because his teeth were pretty bad. Now everything seems to look good but they still bleed when brushed. Its not a lot of bleeding and stops soon after. Is this normal or is there something still going on below the gumline.

 

Thanks in advance,

Adam

[Guest greyvettech]

Hi Everyone,

Had a question. My dog Laddie had his teeth done by Houndstooth, the non-anesthetic dental cleaning service, in September. Everything came out great. Prior to and even since then whenever I brush his teeth for some reason his gums always bleed. Prior to Houndstooth I sorta understood it because his teeth were pretty bad. Now everything seems to look good but they still bleed when brushed. Its not a lot of bleeding and stops soon after. Is this normal or is there something still going on below the gumline.

 

Thanks in advance,

Adam

 

 

He could possibly have an infection that was caused by his gums reacting to the tarter on his teeth...When the gums begin to react and become inflammed and iritated, infection can occur- Even though his teeth have been cleaned, if infection was already present, anti-biotics are need to clear it....He could just have sensitive gums-does he often bleed while chewing on toys/bones? If his gums look inflammed, I would see your vet.

 

[Guest amn70]

He could possibly have an infection that was caused by his gums reacting to the tarter on his teeth...When the gums begin to react and become inflammed and iritated, infection can occur- Even though his teeth have been cleaned, if infection was already present, anti-biotics are need to clear it....He could just have sensitive gums-does he often bleed while chewing on toys/bones? If his gums look inflammed, I would see your vet.

 

 

He was put on antibiotics a few day before and a few days after the cleaning so infection should have been avoided. I never see bleeding with his normal eating of food or biscuits and he loves his biscuits. He's never been a bone chewer. Mostly ignores them much like all his toys so can't judge with that. Sometimes I think gums look puffy but they are not red, though they were before the Houndstooth cleaning. If I can get a pic of his mouth I'll post it.

Edited December 4, 2008 by amn70

[Guest LindsaySF]

How often are you brushing his teeth? How often does he get bones to chew?

 

When I used to do Teagan's teeth like once a week, or every 2 weeks, they would bleed. Now that I do them far more often, and he gets Nylabones every day, they don't bleed.

 

Try brushing his teeth daily and see if that helps.

 

[Guest FullMetalFrank]

When I first started brushing Frank's teeth the gums would bleed. I switched to a regular human tootthbrush, medium firmness, and just kept up with the brushing. Make sure you rinse the brush really well or it will kind of harden up (something about dog saliva!) It took a few days for the bleeding to not occur. Now I brush once or twice a week, and he eats a partial raw diet. If his teeth start to look a little grungy I brush more often.

[scullysmum]

Bleeding at the gums is caused by gingivitis (inflammation of the gums) which is caused by calculus (tartar) that is formed at the gumline, causing inflammation and infection (if it's really bad). Brushing regularly (at least once a week, preferably more) will help....the more often you brush the less the gums will bleed. If the dog already has a big build up of tartar on the teeth they may need to be professionally cleaned first to get you off to a good start, then brush, brush brush

[Guest amn70]

Thanks for your replies. It sounds like I just need to do it more often. His teeth visually look good. Does not appear to have any buildup so I guess simply brushing more should curb the bleeding.

 

Thanks,

Adam

[PrairieProf]

I think I read on here to use a child's soft toothbrush. I got one and it works really well! Beth's gum bled once when I was too vigorous with the fairly stiff toothbrush that came in the initial set I bought, but it hasn't ever with the kiddie toothbrush (and it's easier to grip, too!).