National Dental Awareness Month
Did you know that 80% of pets risk dental disease by the age of two.
One of the biggest myths out there is that our pets need to eat dry kibble to keep their teeth clean. Aside from crunchy things NOT keeping teeth clean, our cats and dogs don’t really chew their food when they eat. Their mouths are designed to rip and swallow, not chew.
It should come as no surprise that sugar is the culprit for dental disease in our pets! Unfortunately, typical dry diets cause the same effect on our furry friend’s teeth when they’re high in carbs!
When our pets eat a biologically appropriate diet, it can do wonders for their teeth among other things! Raw meat has the necessary enzymes to prevent tartar build up on the teeth. Aside from the enzymes, the bone added to raw food diets also works to “scale” the teeth as the meal is enjoyed!
Feeding our pets a less processed, more whole food diet will not only provide health benefits to their bodies, it will also help their teeth! Even ground raw diets help prevent tartar build up, as the meat contains natural enzymes and raw diets do not stick to the teeth, unlike diets that are high in starch.
There are some rules to offering raw bones (not for pets with pancreatitis, diseases of the mouth, weak or fractured teeth, resource guarders, “gulpers,” etc.)
In combination with chews, brushing their teeth daily is a great way to help keep their chompers nice and healthy. There are even toothpaste and brushes just for pets.
Dental health is important all year round, but February is the month we really want to shine a light on it! We can help our furry guys keep those chompers pearly white! Sometimes, it’s as easy as diet!
Five ways to keep your pet’s teeth healthy!
#1 Raw diets help keep teeth clean.
The enzymes required to break down plaque and debris are only found in raw meat! Carnivores lack the enzyme necessary for breaking down carbs and don’t spend much time chewing.
#2 Raw meaty bones are Mother Nature’s toothbrush!
Chewing on a raw meaty bone will eliminate up to 70% of plaque in one day and 90% in one week! Choose the correct size bone for your pet to chew in order to prevent any choking hazards. When selecting a raw meaty bone, never a cooked bone, find a knuckle bone about the size of your pet’s head.
#3 Brushing!
Brushing may take a little repetition if your pet is not used to it, but it’s a great habit to get into to remove plaque build up. Plaque builds up quickly, so it is important to brush daily. Get a toothbrush the appropriate size for your pet’s mouth and a pet safe toothpaste. (Human toothpaste may contain ingredients harmful to our pets.)
#4 Water additives can help with plaque reduction.
Water additives are more to “freshen breath” however, before we can work to freshen breath, we need to understand what’s causing the bad breath. If it’s a dirty mouth then additives will help. If it’s an imbalanced gut, then we need to address the root problem and rebalance the gut to freshen the breath.
#5 Dental chews!
This is a tricky one because we want to be sure we’re feeding a healthy dental chew. If you use them, you know they don’t last that long so they’re not really scraping as much plaque off as we’d like.
