Why You Need to Brush Your Dog’s Teeth Every Day

Today a doggy neighbor called to ask my advice about her little dog who was not acting their usual, happy self, was hanging their normally curled up tail and was not eating. My neighbor was also concerned about a “sweet” smell that was coming from her dog’s mouth and wondered if she should take her dog to emergency.

I asked how long her dog had been displaying uncharacteristic behavior and whether or not she was able to look inside her dog’s mouth to see if the gums were pink or pale in color. When she told me it had been several days and that the dog would not allow her to get anywhere near it’s mouth, I immediately said, “Get ready, I’m driving you and your dog to the emergency clinic.”

We safely secured the little guy in the back seat, and I have to say that even though I’ve smelled a lot of bad smelling doggy breath over the years, nothing in my past experience prepared me for the “gaggingly” horrible odor that was emanating from this little dog’s mouth.

I could only imagine that there was some pretty noxious infection happening and when the nurse took the little guy’s vitals, sure enough, he had a temperature which was an indication that he was fighting an infection.

My neighbor always meant to brush her dog’s teeth, but just never got around to it, so she was totally unaware of what was happening inside her poor little dog’s mouth.

When the vet came into the exam room and firmly held the little guy’s mouth to take a good look, all of his teeth down one side of his jaw were in such a terrible condition that you could actually see the roots of the teeth which were all covered in a gray paste.

This poor dog had only been able to chew on one side of his jaw for quite a long while and I can only imagine how much pain this must have caused the brave little soul.

Now, he must have ten days of antibiotics to get the infection under control while he is fed a soft, recovery diet by spoon, and then he must go to a veterinary hospital to have all of the teeth removed down that one side which will likely cost $2,000 to $3,000.

All of this trauma and expense could have easily been avoided if only the dog’s guardian had taken proper care of his teeth by brushing them every day.

We take our dogs to the groomers to be bathed and clipped and have their nails trimmed so they can look and feel beautiful and healthy, yet 80% of 3 year old dogs suffer from periodontal disease and bad breath.

A dog with cavities and gum disease is forced to suffer in silence while the pain associated with periodontal disease will make your dog’s life miserable as it will be painful for them to eat and the associated bacteria can infect many parts of the dog’s body, including the heart, kidney, liver and brain. If your dog has bad breath, this could be the first sign of gum disease or tooth decay.

TIP: Keep your dog’s teeth sparkling white — buy an electric toothbrush (which does all the brushing work for you) and dip the bristles into some old-fashioned hydrogen peroxide (it’s what’s in human whitening toothpaste) to use as doggy toothpaste. There will be such a small amount on the brush that it will not harm your dog, and will kill most bacteria in the mouth.

The helpful staff at www.PeachyKleenPets.com hope that you have found this article helpful and informative and that you will not forget about the importance of brushing your dog’s teeth every day.

Asia Moore ~ Ask a Dog Whisperer

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