February is National Pet Dental Month, so it's time to flip your pet's lips and take a good look at his or her teeth. You want to Pay particular attention to the his upper molars — those are the big chewing teeth way in the back of his mouth. You'll need to pull his upper lip back and up toward s his ears to get good exposure.
These teeth are particularly prone to tartar build-up because of the minerals that are dumped out of his salivary ducts right over these teeth.
Tartar will causes the tooth to look discolored, with a porous-like "shelf" of material on the surface. This can lead to gingivitis, which is the accumulation of bacteria up under the gum line, which can cause smelly "dog breath." A bad smell alone is often enough to indicate some kind of dental disease.
But let's be realistic: There are lots of other causes of bad breath in your cats and dogs. For example, smelly "tuna breath" in your cat might ay be related to his diet. Stinky breath in your dogs may be from their his licking their his anal glands — producing a distinctive fish smell, or eating a crunchy chewy from your cat's litter box.
As near and dear to our hearts as our pets may be, they still enjoy like smelly stuff; like the client just yesterday whose dog had rolled in horse manure right before coming in for a biannual examination.
Pardon the pun, but when you're in dealing with pets, stuff happens! But if you're noticing a persistent bad odor to your pet's breath, flip those lips to examine his teeth. He's probably due for a professional cleaning.
See your veterinarian in the month of February; many clinics are offering incentives during this month.
Some products good for teeth include:
• Oravet, which is a wax-like product that is applied to the teeth once a week, provides an invisible protective barrier that prevents plaque and tartar from adhering to the teeth.
• Toothbrush and toothpaste — see our Web site for instructions on tooth brushing.
• Dental diets, such as like Hill's t/d and Purina DH, are dry diets that help to shear off plaque and tartar. The kibbles firmness is designed so that the teeth actually sink into the nugget to remove the plaque from the tooth's surface.
• CET Chews come in a rawhide form for dogs that are coated with a dual enzyme system for anti-bacterial action and anti-plaque control. CET Chews also come in a feline chew that is made from freeze-dried fish.
