Every month is Pet Dental Month at Russell Vale vets as we always have on offer free dental checks for all dogs and cats, whether they are patients of ours or not.
And our regular visitors get friendly txt reminders on their pet's dental checks too.
But for most other vets around Australia, August is National Pet Dental Month where they are also offering free dental checks and promotions to encourage pet owners to get their pet's teeth looked at. I think this is an absolutely awesome plan... but then I am a vet! How many pet owners take up the offer? Not as many as we all like.
I was shocked to find out that the percentage of pets with dental disease in 2011 is worse than it was in 2008 (based on US studies). This could be because vets are being more proactive in dental work, and owners are being more vigilant in presenting their pets to the vets for teeth examinations, or it could be that things are actually getting worse.
I know that the number of dental cases I see are actually down, because we are very very active in preventative dental care, such as brushing pet's teeth. I wish I had a dollar for every person who rolled their eyes at me when I talk about brushing pet's teeth.
Again, at last nights webinar, the dentist made the comment "not brushing your pets teeth between dental visits is the equivalent of you not brushing your teeth between your dentists visits." The thought of not brushing my teeth for six months makes me want to gag!
But no bones people! Please don't give your pet bones at all. Not for teeth. I saw a 4 year old dog yesterday for dental work which regularly gets bones (against my advice). She had beautiful white teeth but a bad smell. Radiogrpahs showed advanced disease around 8 teeth, and we had to extract 6.
So brush your pet's teeth every day. If you don't know how, then come visit us at Russell Vale vets, or if you are out of my area, then ask your local vet. The ones who are smart know how to brush teeth, and will show you which toothpaste to use.
Really, brushing teeth is the way to go ..... all of my happy pets with healthy teeth AND gums can't be wrong!
And our regular visitors get friendly txt reminders on their pet's dental checks too.
But for most other vets around Australia, August is National Pet Dental Month where they are also offering free dental checks and promotions to encourage pet owners to get their pet's teeth looked at. I think this is an absolutely awesome plan... but then I am a vet! How many pet owners take up the offer? Not as many as we all like.
I was shocked to find out that the percentage of pets with dental disease in 2011 is worse than it was in 2008 (based on US studies). This could be because vets are being more proactive in dental work, and owners are being more vigilant in presenting their pets to the vets for teeth examinations, or it could be that things are actually getting worse.
I know that the number of dental cases I see are actually down, because we are very very active in preventative dental care, such as brushing pet's teeth. I wish I had a dollar for every person who rolled their eyes at me when I talk about brushing pet's teeth.
Again, at last nights webinar, the dentist made the comment "not brushing your pets teeth between dental visits is the equivalent of you not brushing your teeth between your dentists visits." The thought of not brushing my teeth for six months makes me want to gag!
But no bones people! Please don't give your pet bones at all. Not for teeth. I saw a 4 year old dog yesterday for dental work which regularly gets bones (against my advice). She had beautiful white teeth but a bad smell. Radiogrpahs showed advanced disease around 8 teeth, and we had to extract 6.
So brush your pet's teeth every day. If you don't know how, then come visit us at Russell Vale vets, or if you are out of my area, then ask your local vet. The ones who are smart know how to brush teeth, and will show you which toothpaste to use.
Really, brushing teeth is the way to go ..... all of my happy pets with healthy teeth AND gums can't be wrong!
