Tartar Removal

[yellowgirl]

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Completely missed this thread. Stitch, has your girl had her teeth done yet? I understand your apprehension with the GA.

I've got Sarge booked in for his dental on Tuesday. He's 9 and I'm very nervous but it needs to be done.

The sooner you get it done, the shorter the period she will be under GA, the less work she'll need done and therefore a cheaper bill for you at the end of the day!!

Exactly!

A general anaesthetic is a neccessity for thorough dental assessment and treatment. Ultrasonic cleaning results in a lot of free water, bacteria and frequently chunks of debris. Under a general anaesthetic, the patient has an endotracheal tube in place, with the cuff inflated to protect the airway. The back of the mouth / throat is packed with swabs to prevent any water or debris from heading that way.

With ultrasonic scaling we are able to clean the subgingival area (under the gumline) without causing damage to the tooth or soft tissue, the same as with people. Each tooth surface is cleaned including on the tongue side, in all the grooves and between the teeth. It at some point involves opening the jaw fully to inspect the teeth, probe any pockets under the gumline and access the very back teeth. All of this is incredibly difficult to do in a concious dog and IMHO unsafe to do in one that is only sedated. Sure, you might be able to do some handscaling of the outer surfaces and crack tartar off but this does not deal with the issue of plaque and bacteria under the gum line and may really only make a cosmetic difference.

At home dental treatments like brushing should, ideally, be performed daily and if not that often, at least 2-3 times per week.

There are lots of things that can help, such as appropriate bones, dental foods, brushing, mouth rinses etc but they will all work better with a 'blank canvas' of fresh clean teeth as it is difficult to use any of them to remove tartar.

Rappie, apart from bones (Sarge won't chew them properly ) what are good dental foods? What do you think of Greenies?

[Rappie]

Rappie, apart from bones (Sarge won't chew them properly ) what are good dental foods? What do you think of Greenies?

The most common dental diet are Hills t/d and Royal Canin Dental. The Eukanuba range have a plaque reduction system on all of their food. I'm currently feeding of of my dogs t/d and the other RC Dental. Why you ask? I bought the RC Dental first thinking the larger kibble would encourage chewing. It did for one dog, the other just took an extra 2 seconds to inhale all his food. So I bought t/d - the standard size kibble. Should point out that my other dog is 5.5kg. It took one meal of t/d for me to decide he could go back to their normal food - it IS possible to swallow t/d whole :rolleyes: For the 4.5kg dog that is eating t/d (breakfast takes a full 5 minutes now) - it has made a difference even after 1 week.

I think Greenies do a good job if you have dogs that take the time to chew. They should be a no-go for dogs that don't chew, even with the reformulation that took place.

I have previously fed rawhide chews (Enzadent) with good effect but am currently having trouble tracking down any that will last a reasonable amount of time. I would always be careful with any of the cheaper rawhide treats (the bones / shoes / sticks) as they don't seem to break down easily and there can be considerable variations in their processing (good article recently in Urban Animal).

Depending on the dog also, the nylon bones may also be suitable. Both of my dogs, although small are pretty intense chewers. The durable Nylabones have been well received and lasted a long time without being too hard - the gummy bones get destroyed easily.

I have no issues with bones as long as they are appropriate - to me that either means fully edible (chicken necks, frames, brisket, lamb flaps etc) or a big raw meaty bone. The caution with the raw meaty bone is that I feel they should be taken away from the dogs when there are no meaty bits left - the ripping and tearing is the beneficial part of the process. Really getting in an chomping on just the bone is a recipe for fractured molars, especially when the bones are cut in half. I do occasionally feed my dogs bones, but I live in an apartment and have two small dogs that are highly possessive of anything resembling food so bones require close supervision with separation (one inside, one outside).

I think daily home dental care is also probably under-appreciated for dog that don't eat bone. I see lots of foul mouths that have never really had any help. We brush our teeth and still get them cleaned at the dentist. That's not to say that every dog needs it but it can make a considerable difference in those dogs that for whatever reason can't / wont engage in other activities that would keep their teeth clean. It works best if you can start with a set of pearly white though - it's sometimes very difficult to get tartar to shift without a GA and clean (it can be done but is not always possible).

[yellowgirl]

Thanks so much for your input Rappie (sorry to hijack your thread Stitch )

Sarge also swallows the Science Dental, and the Advance Large breed Dental!!

Here is the link to my recent thread which shows pics of Sarge's teeth & a bit more info. Post 8 shows two teeth that I didn't even know he had! http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?show...p;#entry3824324

You're welcome to reply in that thread if you have any more great suggestions :rolleyes:

I appreciate your help.

[~Debs~]

Fragaria is very good for loosening tartar,but nothing beats a good raw marrow bone!

[Stitch]

No problem Yellowgirl, I am always interested to read helpful discussions.

I have made a few enquiries and baring someone coming up with a vet that does laser cleaning I will probably phone this week and make the booking. It will be with a big hospital practice just so that if anything goes wrong, at least there will be some backup there.

Normally I am reasonably OK with dogs and general anaesthetics but this dog has had a few problems over the years and also she is my special girl.

As a matter of interest, she was always a dog that wouldn't chew bones which in hindsight probably meant that I should have cleaned her teeth myself right from the start. Now she is on the Low Residue diet she can't have bones. I wonder if there is a connection, ie. dogs that can't tolerate bones have a different body chemistry that encourages tartar build up or if it is simply the lack of mechanical cleaning?

I hope everything goes well with your boy on Tuesday, Yellowgirl.

Edited to add: Debs, does this mean I should smear strawberries over the tartar??? Just joking, can you buy it in a liquid form and how safe is it for dogs?

Edited July 12, 2009 by STITCH

[becks]

fragaria 6c is the one sold over here for teeth cleaning, it is a tiny pill.