Brushing Teeth

[Guest Yankeegreyhound]

If you brush their teeth, how often and for how long each time??

 

My Sonny is a velcro dog and he follows me everywhere. He's in the bathroom with me each morning while I'm getting ready so, I brush his teeth. I started slowly with one side a day but I am now able to do each side. I know, for humans, they say to brush for a couple of minutes or, as long as the happy birthday song. Is it the same for dogs? If I can do it for that long, that is, I will try to work up to it. I know every little bit helps so I'm just excited to be able to do this much with him!!!

[Guest RoseFirePhoto]

A good way to brush a grey's teeth is to cut up an old towel into 4"x4" squares. Wrap one square around your finger and gentle go over the outside of their teeth. With many hounds, their rough tongues will naturally 'scrape' the tarter. Once your nice white towel turns a yucky tan color, put some enzymic toothpaste on his gums between his lips. The toothpaste will act like an all day mouth wash.

 

Vets always suggest to brush a dog's teeth once daily. Many pet owners don't have to time but if you can do it everyday -- the better.

 

Dental problems (like with people) can lead to other health issues. I have six dogs and if you think I brush all their teeth once a day -- you're crazy. I try to brush each dog's teeth at least a couple times a week. It seems to help. Better than not doing it at all

[Guest twoskinnydogs]

I gave up on brushing Toby and Emma's teeth before they passed. I took a class at a local vets office and learned how to hand scale their teeth. I have tried to brush John's teeth, he was ok with it and with more practice I think he will let me brush them all I want. I haven't even attempted it on Rita yet, I'll let her settle down here before thrying that Her teeth need to be scaled before I start brushing anyway

[Guest DragonflyDM]

I bought some spray stuff that works...and I follow it up with the green chews--- Boomer will only use the peanut butter tooth paste.

[Guest giantsfan]

I try to brush every night after their last outing, but honestly I miss a night here and there. I use an extra soft toothbrush and do uppers/lowers for about 15 seconds on each side. I'm sure longer would be better, but even the 30 total seconds of brushing they get seems to help.

[gryhnd_adoptee]

I got very lucky that Kare Bear will let me brush her teeth with an electric toothbrush. I do it for as long as she allows me to.

 

[tbhounds]

I brush my guys every morning. I use a sonicare brush -it only takes a minute to do each dog. To be effective brushing should be done daily.

[Feisty49]

I brush Anna Bella's teeth every morning now. I was doing it 2 to 3 times a week but if I went as long as 3 days without brushing, the next time I brushed, there was pink on the toothbrush. No more pink ever with every day brushing.

[Guest aowam]

Evry night for my boy at 8pm. If I forget he actually reminds me haha. As a dental hygienist I definitely want my patients brushing long enough, but to be honest that number is just the average for actually getting to every surface of your teeth properly. In otherwords if youre brushing for 1 minute and youre doing a stellar job then stick with it. For my pup I just get in there as long as I need to (or he lets me) to reach everywhere and disrupt that plaque layer...which tends to be around a minute

Edited May 27, 2012 by aowam

[DocsDoctor]

Every morning, with doggy toothpaste and a softish human toothbrush, for about a minute. Seems to be working for us - the vet was pleased with the condition of his teeth last week when she checked!

[Guest IHeartDogs]

Every single night about 45 seconds to a minute. Here is a great post about the importance of daily brushing from a greyhound blog I follow:

 

http://neversaynever...rly-whites.html

Edited May 27, 2012 by IHeartDogs

[Guest jbbuzby]

I do my best to brush both pup's teeth at least every other day. It's for about 10 seconds each side, enough to scrub each tooth and get the paste on there. So far so good. I've had my male over a year and his are still going strong!

[Guest avadogner]

Thanks for asking. I have been brushing Augie's twice a week but need to do it daily. Poor boy came to us with 2 broken canines and a goofy overbite. He raced for about 3 yrs and was almost 6. He was a crate chewer too. Baby gates fixed the chewing but his toofers are a mess. He hates toothbrushing too. I have to bar the dog door and DH has to hold him. Augie is only about 20 lbs smaller than me and much faster. We do daily dental chews, use doggie mouth wash, use an extra freshener in his water and brush. He is terrified of the electric toothbrush. I am quite jealous seeing greys enjoy it!

[jetcitywoman]

We brush both doggies every evening after dinner. They like to lick a lot, and Capri tosses her head so I just try to do the outsides of the canine teeth and the molars at least for a few seconds. We started out brushing every other day but found we'd forget a lot, and Capri had a huge struggle with gingivitis and receding gums. Even missing one day and her gums start to bleed. We've gotten that under control with daily brushing and application of oral antiseptic. Even as briefly as we brush, since we do it every day, things seem to be under control now and she hasn't bled for a few months.

[rschultz]

Twice a day would be ideal but once is good for a minute or so.

[Guest FastDogsOwnMe]

I don't find it really helps, but scaling does, so that's what I do- about once every week or two.

[Guest Yankeegreyhound]

I got very lucky that Kare Bear will let me brush her teeth with an electric toothbrush. I do it for as long as she allows me to.

 

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So cute!! What a good girl!!!

 

Thank you everyone. I'm going to try to work up to a minute or so.

[Guest HoundWorks]

I don't think I'm brushing Dexter's teeth enough. He is almost 2 now and I brush every so often, maybe once or twice a week. I can see plaque building on his teeth and his breath seems to be getting worse. I'm going to try and brush his teeth every night to see if it helps. He is really good about letting me brush them, but it worries me that the plaque is getting worse.

 

Can someone tell me what scaling is? It's not something I'm familiar with it.

Edited June 13, 2012 by HoundWorks

[GreytNut]

Scaling is when you take a dental scaler (you can do a search on Drs. Foster and Smith to see a couple of different styles for sale) to gently scrape the tartar off the teeth. You have to be very careful not to scratch the enamel... really, don't put any pressure on it. I have a scaler and I very occasionally use it, but I'm super cautious about it. The best way to keep them clean is with daily chewies and frequent brushing. If you scratch the enamel you'll create more problems than you solve. I think that overzealous scaling is why my old girl's teeth are so bad.

[Guest greysmitten]

I got very lucky that Kare Bear will let me brush her teeth with an electric toothbrush. I do it for as long as she allows me to.

 

 

Hahaha! I'm seriously laughing out loud. Lovely!

[Hubcitypam]

Never have. Never will.

[Guest HoundWorks]

Thanks for the info. That seems a bit daunting, but I may look into it. I'll stick to brushing everyday for now and see if that helps. It just worries me that he's barely 2 and he already has some bad spots of plaque build-up. I'd like to avoid the professional dental cleaning if possible.

[seeh2o]

I asked Claire's doggy dentist how long and she said it doesn't matter how long, all that matters is that you get in there and brush. I was doing it once a day at night, rinsing in the morning, but I noticed that her teeth were getting a bit gunky - after a major dental - so I started brushing twice a day. It really made all the difference, they are nearly as bright as they were as when I brought her home in March after her dental. Also, if I brush twice a day I get no blood on the brush.

 

I sure wish I could use my electric one on her, I haven't tried that yet, but I have a strong gut feeling it wouldn't go over well.

[tbhounds]

Never have. Never will.

Not judging Pam but, I'm sorry to hear that- periodontal disease can be prevented with daily brushing. Periodontal disease attributes to cardiac and renal disease.

Our hounds dental hygiene needs are really not much different than our own. Daily brushing and routine cleanings as needed.

SoniCare user here.

Edited June 15, 2012 by tbhounds

[greytpups]

I don't find it really helps, but scaling does, so that's what I do- about once every week or two.

if you scale their teeth, do you also polish them. I wonder if the microscopic abrasions caused by scaling need to be polished?