Brushing Teeth

[Guest greyhoundgirl1]

I do brush my guys teeth everyday. But can someone post a video of how to scale? I bought a scaler from Dr. Foster's.

[tbhounds]

I know I sound like a broken record here but, scaling without polishing will do more harm than good.

[Batmom]

I know I sound like a broken record here but, scaling without polishing will do more harm than good.

 

tbhounds is right about this. I've seen the teeth of a couple of dogs who had scaling with no polishing -- not good at all, traps even more crud along the gumline and makes the next dental harder.

[Guest barkdogs]

One of my best friends is a vet who specializes in dentistry. He absolutely echos the above statements about scaling--he says it does far more harm then good in the long run. I do brush my dog's teeth--not as often as I should! But the thing that has helped the most has been feeding them raw poultry bones--drums, feet and necks. Turkey necks are great too--just my guys don't like them as much. They get something crunchy with each meal. Really makes a difference. My friend the dentist also says that he sees great teeth in his clients who feed some raw bones, as long as it's not big bones like beef. He say's he sees a lot of broken teeth if the bones are too large and hard.

[Guest greyhoundgirl1]

One of my best friends is a vet who specializes in dentistry. He absolutely echos the above statements about scaling--he says it does far more harm then good in the long run. I do brush my dog's teeth--not as often as I should! But the thing that has helped the most has been feeding them raw poultry bones--drums, feet and necks. Turkey necks are great too--just my guys don't like them as much. They get something crunchy with each meal. Really makes a difference. My friend the dentist also says that he sees great teeth in his clients who feed some raw bones, as long as it's not big bones like beef. He say's he sees a lot of broken teeth if the bones are too large and hard.

 

Aren't raw poultry bones dangerous? I remember yrs ago when I owned an Irish Setter, I was told poultry bones splinter.

[Hubcitypam]

Aren't raw poultry bones dangerous? I remember yrs ago when I owned an Irish Setter, I was told poultry bones splinter.

Cooked poultry bones splinter. Raw ones are more rubbery. Turkey necks and chicken backs and feet work well for greys.

[Guest Timo]

I brush Timo's teeth with an electric toothbrush. I try to do it every other day. He tolerates it because I use coconut oil, and he loves it. I probably brush each side for 1-2 minutes. I dab coconut oil on the brush three times for each side. Then I let him lick the bowl.

[silverfish]

I use an electric toothbrush and have done for years. It took a while to get Jeffie used to it because he was very twitchy about his mouth anyway, and even now I can only really do it two or three times a week or he starts running away when he sees me coming. We're working on it.

 

I've also used the hand scaler and will continue to do so. I hear what you guys are saying about 'micro-abrasions', but dogs will get these anyway, and I personally have never had a problem with extra tartar build-up or damage because of it. My vets have always been happy with it. My first dog died at 13.5 years old with a nearly full set of clean, white teeth - he only lost two; one was broken when we got him and formed an abscess, and another broke years later. The worst sets of teeth have been old boys who've come to me at 9/10 years old with bad mouths already. IMHO (and that of my vets) anything is better than tartar gunk building up and inflaming the gums - that leads to bacteria under the gumline like nothing else. Bear in mind I'm in England and we don't have 'doggy dentists' here!

 

One thing I would say to everyone who brushes, with or without an electric toothbrush; make sure you get right to the back. I've seen many people brushing beautifully right up to the corner and then not poking the brush head inside, and there are small teeth right at the back there which you can't reach unless you do.

 

To see what I mean, take a look at this dog skull. You need to scroll down the page just a little bit.

Edited June 19, 2012 by silverfish

[RedHead]

My dogs do a lot of chewing and I have never had to worry about their back teeth. No matter how much they chew though, I have found that their front fangs get plaque, so those are the only ones I brush. Probably not enough, I should do it more often. I have never had to take a dog to a dental, even my ten year old is great. I guess since my dogs have always had good teeth, I haven't really seen what really bad plaque can do. I was shocked this weekend when a friend showed me her 4 year old dog's teeth. Every tooth was covered completely in a hard, brown plaque, it was awful!

[Guest greygirls2]

That's so cool..you are so lucky she lets you use that. Wish that worked here.... I tried it once with my dogs and they bolted right out of the room!!!!!! I never was able to try it a second time because the second they see it off they go. So I just use an infants soft toothbrush with PetzLife gel and that works fine for us.

[cleptogrey]

i stick my thumbnail under the gumline and chip off the plaque, if i've been negligent about brushing, is that considered scaleling???? i also polish their teeth 2xs a year w/ the electric tooth brush and some dental polish(from my hygienist). i use just a tad of the polish and i can really see the difference.

[Guest CharlEYp]

I tend to give Al a minty rawhide to chew and a dentastick every few days.

I currently try to brush his teeth every other day too and his teeth are nice and white but he still has bad breath, any advice?

 

Also i've noticed when we got him he had some brown spots showing on the tips of his front teeth where a belivev the marrow is showing??? (I think, although i'm not positive) any advice on how to undo old damage?

 

He's not in pain and doesn't mind me playing with his mouth as long as it's not for too long but i'm a little obsessed with health teeth and i want what's best for him.

[tbhounds]

I tend to give Al a minty rawhide to chew and a dentastick every few days.

I currently try to brush his teeth every other day too and his teeth are nice and white but he still has bad breath, any advice?

 

Also i've noticed when we got him he had some brown spots showing on the tips of his front teeth where a belivev the marrow is showing??? (I think, although i'm not positive) any advice on how to undo old damage?

 

He's not in pain and doesn't mind me playing with his mouth as long as it's not for too long but i'm a little obsessed with health teeth and i want what's best for him.

Good for you to try and maintain good oral hygiene for your pupper! His health

will benefit for that. Try and brush everyday using a pet toothpaste or petzlife.

The "marrow" you are seeing is most likely exposed pulp or denton on his incisors. Usually there are non-problematic but, keep an eye on them-future extractions may be necessary.

Edited July 4, 2012 by tbhounds

[Brandiandwe]

I'm now brushing every night. Paige is a little angel and just looks resigned. Brandi loves the taste of the toothpaste and tries to chew the brush while I'm trying to brush. Not easy. But better than running away.

 

Dh was most upset when he saw their toothbrush put in its own holder beside ours.

 

They'll still need a dental though, to undo damage done before they came to us, but it can wait a little longer.

[Guest CharlEYp]

Thanks tbhounds, his teeth look great otherwise and obviously i don't want him to have to have them removed.

The fact that he LOVES his minty rawhind now helps, although i still can't brush his whole mouth in one sitting. (Have to do it in bits.)

 

Brandiandwe,

 

Dh was most upset when he saw their toothbrush put in its own holder beside ours.

 

This is brilliant! i laughed when i saw this, although you're braver than me i wouldn't put my grey brust with ours, he has his own seperate mug and everything.

(Just in case i accidently brush my teeth with his brush in my morning daze. lol)

 

I'm glad there are other on here that are as fussy over dental hygiene as me. :yay

[maryz]

Sherri's teeth get brushed every night with an enzymatic toothpaste. She loves the poultry flavor I also use PetzLife spray at least three times a week.

When she sees me walking towards her with her toothbrush, she runs to her bed to get started.

[Guest brit1]

Thanks for towel idea Can you tell me which toothpaste you use? thanks brit

 

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

[tbhounds]

Thanks tbhounds, his teeth look great otherwise and obviously i don't want him to have to have them removed.

The fact that he LOVES his minty rawhind now helps, although i still can't brush his whole mouth in one sitting. (Have to do it in bits.)

 

Brandiandwe,

 

Dh was most upset when he saw their toothbrush put in its own holder beside ours.

 

This is brilliant! i laughed when i saw this, although you're braver than me i wouldn't put my grey brust with ours, he has his own seperate mug and everything.

(Just in case i accidently brush my teeth with his brush in my morning daze. lol)

 

I'm glad there are other on here that are as fussy over dental hygiene as me. :yay

Ok- going to totally admit this----- I use a sonicare - bought one with two brush heads, one for me and one for the houndie's --knowing were I'm going with this???!!!

 

 

 

 

Yes, I used the dogs one by mistake one morning--obliviously I hadn't had my coffee yet!!!!

[Guest itsagreytlife]

I have come to the conclusion that, like humans, some dogs are born with good teeth genes, some are not. Selah is one of those that has the yellow/brown teeth thing going, no matter that I brush them every night, use a rinse, etc. She had a partial dental recently which confirmed her periodontal disease at 5 yrs. She will be facing extractions a few years down the road for sure. I have some friends with greys who have teeth whiter than mine and they are not obsessive about brushing & do not do bones. This said, I do believe it is still important to brush as often as possible to prevent receding gums and other early stages problems. Just hate the brown gunk that ruins my girl's beautiful smile. I wonder if using my Sonicare would make a bit of difference...I would have to make sure I make a firm habit of switching her brush head IMMEDIATELY AFTER her brushing so I don't make the same mistake as you, tbhounds!!

 

(That is something I would do even after my coffee!)

Edited July 7, 2012 by itsagreytlife

[seeh2o]

Thanks tbhounds, his teeth look great otherwise and obviously i don't want him to have to have them removed.

The fact that he LOVES his minty rawhind now helps, although i still can't brush his whole mouth in one sitting. (Have to do it in bits.)

 

Brandiandwe,

Dh was most upset when he saw their toothbrush put in its own holder beside ours.

 

This is brilliant! i laughed when i saw this, although you're braver than me i wouldn't put my grey brust with ours, he has his own seperate mug and everything.

(Just in case i accidently brush my teeth with his brush in my morning daze. lol)

 

I'm glad there are other on here that are as fussy over dental hygiene as me. :yay

Ok- going to totally admit this----- I use a sonicare - bought one with two brush heads, one for me and one for the houndie's --knowing were I'm going with this???!!!

 

 

 

 

Yes, I used the dogs one by mistake one morning--obliviously I hadn't had my coffee yet!!!!

 

OMG, I'm sorry, but that made me spew my coffee!!!

[Guest ashphobiax]

Glider loves it, he chases me around the house to brush his teeth

 

i do it as long as he can stand and doesnt start fussing, i make sure i at least hit every tooth.

[Guest CharlEYp]

Ok- going to totally admit this----- I use a sonicare - bought one with two brush heads, one for me and one for the houndie's --knowing were I'm going with this???!!!

 

 

 

 

Yes, I used the dogs one by mistake one morning--obliviously I hadn't had my coffee yet!!!!

 

@ tbhounds

lol, i knew it!

I'd totally do that if i missed my coffee too!

Poor you. I hope you treated yuor self to a costa after.

[Guest Lady_Catherine]

How hard was it to train for the Sonicare? We are bushing Bessie's teeth with a dog brush and she's pretty good with it, but the electric sounds even better. How did you introduce it?

[silverfish]

My dogs do a lot of chewing and I have never had to worry about their back teeth. No matter how much they chew though, I have found that their front fangs get plaque, so those are the only ones I brush.

 

Despite my earlier post about how I get right inside the cheek to get to the back teeth, I now have Sid booked in for an extraction next Friday because, although I couldn't see any problem, his breath was getting stinky and I took him to have a look-see at the vet this morning. I have trouble getting a look at those tiny back teeth (the ones behind the back molars) and sure enough, one of them was covered in tartar and needs taking out.

 

In my defence, he's a tripod and hates having his nose pointed to the ceiling because it puts him off balance, and I have neck problems which make it difficult to get into the right position to see right in there, even with him lying down. But it does go to show that most of the teeth can look great, and those little back teeth can still be a problem. He chews a ton of stuff from dried green tripe to fresh lamb ribs and gets his teeth brushed with an electric toothbrush, and yet those ones can get missed.

 

How hard was it to train for the Sonicare? We are bushing Bessie's teeth with a dog brush and she's pretty good with it, but the electric sounds even better. How did you introduce it?

 

I introduce the electric brush very carefully, because if you rush it, they can easily be scared and put off. It's not just the noise, it's the vibration, too. So what I normally do is use it just as a handheld brush (without the power on) until they're used to having their teeth cleaned with it, then at the end of the session I'll take it out of the mouth, hold it away from them and turn it on for a few seconds so they can hear it. Next time I'll do the same, but just touch the back of the brush to their shoulder for a second.

 

Sometimes that's all they'll need, and you can go ahead and brush with power, but keep the session short at first. However, a nervous dog like my Jeffie needs more acclimatisation. I had to do the shoulder touch for several sessions then next time just touch it to a tooth and immediately away again, taking a lot of time to make sure he was always comfortable. Took about a week to get to brush one side of his mouth and then it was a question of gradually increasing the exposure and he's fine with it now.

[carronstar]

Despite brushing, spraying, the stuff you put in the water, and quarterly non-anaesthetic cleanings, my girl just has lousy teeth. She had a cleaning on Saturday and Dali let me know that we need more extractions. One back lower molar is noticeably loose, and two more have pockets in the gums. I have called the dental surgeon. Am praying that this one doesn't cost me the nearly $4,000 the "Great Pull of 2010" cost me. She had 24 extractions at that one so this should be less.

 

Dali used a swab thing at the start of the cleansing that is really soft, and disposable so I have ordered them. Found them on Amazon for a good cost. They are human, apparently for use with ill/injured people who can't brush. She sent me home with one so I have been using it twice daily and cleaning it after use. Aquitaine seems to tolerate it really well which is why I am willing to pay for yet another dental product. It seems like I have them all and she still has bad teeth.