Your pet’s teeth need to be brushed just as your own teeth do! To ensure that their mouth is staying healthy, you should be brushing your pet’s teeth every day. Here are four reasons to brush your furry friend’s teeth.
- Freshens Their Breath
- Prevents Periodontal Disease
- Protects Them From Pain
- Lessens Tooth Discoloration
If you’ve ever spent time around any animal, you know that their breath can be pungent. Although most people probably think that chronic bad breath, or halitosis, is normal in pets, bad breath should be a temporary issue if you keep their teeth clean with daily brushing. If your pet does have persistent bad breath, there could be a more serious dental health issue going on. Bad breath can be caused by a variety of diseases, but the most common is periodontal disease, a serious gum infection that damages gums and can destroy the jawbone. If your pet has periodontal disease, plaque is mixing with saliva and bacteria to create a terrible smell. Brushing your pet’s teeth will help eliminate plaque and prevent bad breath.
Daily brushing will also fight against gum disease! As mentioned above, gum disease is a common and serious problem in pets. It will cause pain, infection, abscesses, and eventual tooth loss. Infected gums can even negatively impact other parts of your pet’s body such as the heart, kidney, lungs, skin, joints, and brain.
If you’re brushing your pet’s teeth every day, it’s a great opportunity to check your pet’s mouth for dental health issues that may be causing them pain. Many pets don’t show when they’re feeling pain and just continue to live with it. You’ll be able to notice if something seems amiss, such as retained baby teeth, gum disease, abscesses, broken or fractured teeth, abnormally positioned teeth, or a misaligned bite. These can cause discomfort and other serious issues for your pet so contact your veterinarian to come in for a checkup.
As they age, pets will exhibit mild tooth discoloration. Heavy stains are caused by bacteria found in plaque. However, if you brush their teeth every day, it’s possible to keep bad stains at bay by removing this bacteria.
It’s important that you take care of your own dental health too. Establish a daily oral care routine so both you and your pet can have “paw-sitively” “purr-fect” oral health. Call us today to schedule a cleaning and checkup!
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