If you’ve ever been to a vet practice, you may have heard “Your pet’s teeth need cleaning” or “You need to brush your pet’s teeth”. Do you follow your vet’s recommendation?

Once you realize your pets teeth are not in great shape, you may wonder, where do I go from here? You have a few choices,

1. Have them cleaned under general anesthesia by your vet.
2. Go for a cheaper option by seeking non-anesthetic dental.
3. Do nothing.

Let me start off with why dental brushing/cleaning is necessary. Dental plaque forms within 8 hours. With or without food. The plaque becomes tartar eventually. Once the plaque forms, it will NOT be removed by brushing teeth without a more aggressive type of dental care. This is why your dentist recommends dental brushing 3 times every day as a preventative measure.

Now realistically, can you brush your pet’s teeth three times a day? If you can, that is just awesome! But many people are either not able to or not willing to. So you need your pet’s teeth cleaned regularly somehow.

Over time, your pet’s teeth will accumulate plaque and tartar. The tartar will become visible to you. But only if you actually check their teeth, which many people don’t do. Even without the visible tartar, the plaque may still be there. Breath in most pets is an effective way to determine your pet's oral health.

If you see any yellow, brown, black materials stuck to your pet’s teeth, your pet absolutely needs a dental cleaning. The tartar and plaque are not only rotten in the pet’s mouth but it also cause multiple organ issues. The bacteria travel to the heart, kidneys and other organs and damage your pets general health and well being.

If you have recently visited your vet and heard your pet’s dental would cost you more than a grand, that means your pet’s teeth are in disastrous condition and most likely needing dental extractions. The damage has been done. Unless you mean to let your pet suffer, proceed with the procedure and start daily dental hygiene afterward to minimize cost in the future and maintain your pet’s health.

Lastly, no vet would recommend non anesthetic dental. Why? Because it’s inhumane, torturous, ineffective, merely cosmetic and a potentially dangerous procedure. If you like visiting your dentist and having to keep your mouth open while he/she pokes around your teeth and gum without giving any anesthetic and you think the same can be applied to your pet, you’re gravely mistaken. No animals will willingly keep their mouth open when a stranger messes with their mouth. Hence the stranger pries open the mouth and moves around the sharp scaler. While they are at it, your pet WILL move. One little jerk can make the blade of the scaler wound the gum. That might introduce bacteria into the bloodstream or further the tooth/gum infection. I have seen too many patients that ended up having to receive a dental procedure here after they had visited a non-anesthetic dental place.

The oral cavity is the gateway of so many substances in a pet’s daily life. Without proper care, it will go bad. Routine trips to your vet and regular dental cleanings are the minimum you can provide in order to ensure a healthy quality of life for your pet.