Teeth & Gum Care

Dogs and cats get all their adult teeth by 6 months of age. So from 6 months we need to care for their teeth just like our teeth. To keep our pets teeth clean and their gums healthy we need them to chew on hard food or bones or we can brush their teeth daily.

Foods that help keep pets teeth include:

  • Raw bones
    • Chicken wings or necks for small dogs and cats
    • Brisket or flat bones for medium to large dogs

Raw bones are important because when you cook a bone it will dehydrate and then when your pet chews a cooked bone it may splinter . Splintered bones are more likely to get caught in their passage through the intestinal tract and cause a blockage.

Some foods are designed to help keep teeth clean such as:

  • Hills t/d diet 
  • Royal Canin food
  • Eukanuba Food

Some products also help keep teeth clean:

  • Aquadent
  • Tooth Brushes
  • Pet Tooth Paste

Pets like us also need regular teeth cleans by Vet Med . Imagine if you hadn’t cleaned your teeth for a year how your teeth would smell and your gums would be inflamed.
Red gums means your pet has painful gum diseases. Gum disease is a common cause of chronic heart , liver and kidney disease.

If your pet needs a teeth scale and polish it is a day procedure. Firstly it is important your pet is starved for 8 hours before arriving at Vet Med because we need to give them a light general anaesthetic. If they eat they may vomit and aspirate food into their lungs . Once they arrive our Vet Med vet will give them a full check over including listening to their heart, checking eyes, ears and temperature. At Vet Med to make sure the anesthetic is as safe as possible the cost of the anaesthetic includes a blood test to check on liver and kidney function. If the physical exam and the blood test is normal older animals are placed on intravenous fluids to maintain blood pressure and kidney hydration. All teeth are check for gum pockets , clean individually with an ultrasonic scaler (just like a dentists) and then polished to increase the time for plaque re forming. On discharge later that day one our nurses or vets will discuss how to extend the time between teeth scale and polish.