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Should you put your money where your pet’s mouth is?
By Dr. Marty Becker
August 28, 2010
Do you ever cringe to look into your pet’s mouth, worried about what you’ll see, wondering how the heck you’re going to scrape up the money to get his teeth cleaned… again?
I may be a veterinarian and one of the biggest boosters of oral health in the profession, but as the economy staggers and stumbles, believe me — I know how you feel. And your veterinarian probably does, too.
It’s a perplexing situation for a veterinarian, really. We have incredible new ways to examine, diagnose and treat dental problems. We have the ability to treat those problems, and new procedures to prevent them. And every day, the evidence piles higher that good oral health provides benefits to the whole pet, and may even help him live longer. And a lot of our clients can’t afford any of it.
It’s not a problem unique to dental care, or even to veterinary medicine. Earlier this month I was one of around a hundred people invited to the Pet Healthcare Industry Summit, a gathering of leaders from academia, private practice, shelters, government, industry, and national veterinary organizations. The challenge of providing good veterinary care — or just keeping our doors open — during hard economic times was probably the single most discussed topic at the summit.
I talk a lot about what great benefits pets have for our health and happiness. I talk about The Bond, how pets are genuine members of our family. I know every one of you reading this wants to do the absolute best for your pets. And I also know you’re getting ready to stop reading because you think I’m going to tell you that you have to dig deep and spend the money to pay for your pet’s dental cleaning no matter what.
Relax. I’m going to say something else.
I told my colleagues at the Summit that we have to find ways to provide good care to our patients within the limits of their owners’ budgets. That includes taking a hard look at how we do dental procedures, and seeing if there’s not a way to safely scale back (sorry for the pun) the costs of these procedures and still give pets all the benefits of good dental health.
And now I’m telling all of you something you’ve probably heard so often you don’t even hear it anymore: Brush your pets’ teeth every single day. And ask your veterinarian for other products and procedures you can use at home to extend the time between professional cleanings or even, if you’re lucky and thorough, avoid them.
I know you’re busy. I know you just want to cuddle with the cat in front of “Dancing with the Stars” and forget the stress of the day, not try to get a toothbrush into the devil kitty’s mouth.
And I know the last thing you want to do after you come home from taking the kids to soccer practice, the dog to the park and shopping for groceries is to brush the dog’s teeth. You probably barely have the energy to brush your own.
But if you want to have all the proven benefits of good oral health, if you want to stop cringing when you get a hit of your pet’s toxic breath, and most of all, if you want to get those things for literally pennies a day, that’s the secret.
So how about this: I’ll keep trying to give your pets great care that you can afford, and talking with other veterinarians about how to find creative ways to keep costs down without compromising that care. In return, you’ll brush your pets’ teeth.
How’s that for a bargain?
Photo: My wife, Teresa, brushing our dog Quixote’s teeth. Video here.
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I need to start doing this, I have finger brushes and dog toothpaste.
But, I have three dogs and they all seem to have pearly whites and I love their breath. Perhaps it is bias. No dental work ever, from 3 - 8 years old. Raw bones and now raw diet. I don’t know what but my dogs seem do be doing fine.
But I know brushing is important and people should keep reminding people.
Comment by Erich Riesenberg — August 28, 2010 @ 6:12 am
Erich, if it ain’t broke …?
A frozen turkey neck twice a week, which is also the dog’s meal, is a heckuva lot cheaper and, I daresay, safer, than regularly-scheduled general anesthesia followed by a course of antibiotics.
Comment by H. Houlahan — August 28, 2010 @ 6:36 am
I’m with ER &HH here. I tried many different things when I adopted a dog with scummy teeth. Nothing worked until I switched to raw meaty bones and turkey necks. I thought this pup would be to the vet regularly for dental treatment and kinda accepted that when I adopted her. 8yrs later . . . . nada dental visit in her history. Pearly whites and she’s at least 10 1/2 yo. The cats get chicken feet/necks for chewing pleasure . . .
Comment by straybaby — August 28, 2010 @ 9:38 am
I feed a selection of raw bones and food.
The only dog I have to brush is the toy fox. Terrier+toy equals tarter.
My other dogs annoy my vet with keeping clean and healthy mouths in spite of my lack of dental hygiene dedication.
However, I have several dogs who get hair up under their gums or even up in between the ridges of their soft palate. I assume it’s a combo of short, hard hair and grooming themselves or others. So that gets checked for and pulled regularly. This is also a good opportunity to examine their whole mouths for issues.
When it’s needed, I will willingly, if not happily, shell out for professional dental assistance. But usually, this takes the form of pulling fractured teeth. Somehow a beaver gene jumped ship and landed at my house. A life time of aggressive chewing combined with over enthusiastic hunting of lizards amongst rocks has resulted in a few broken canines and incisors.
Last week I plunked down 800.00 bucks to have Jasper the rescue dogs’ nasty premolars pulled. They looked “iffy” when he had his neck surgery last year but not immediately an issue. I should have had them removed then but there was a strong desire to limit his time under anesthesia. When “iffy” went to full blown “gah!”, out they came.
Free dogs, the gift that keeps on costing. :)
Comment by JenniferJ — August 28, 2010 @ 7:24 pm
That is a good bargain :-) I think part of the problem is that people do not understand that the full impact of poor dental health goes way beyond bad breath and ugly looking teeth.
Comment by Jana Rade — August 29, 2010 @ 3:08 pm
Give your dog a bone! Surprised this vet didn’t recommend this. It is so simple. My dogs have never had a teeth cleaning. My dogs are fed raw and have a bone to chew everyday. No need for potentially dangerous anesthetic or antibiotics.
Comment by Lori P — August 30, 2010 @ 7:04 am
Lori, some of my raw fed dogs have never needed a professional dentistry, and some have — it depends on many factors including genetics and the shape of their jaw.
There are no magic bullets.
Comment by Christie Keith — August 30, 2010 @ 8:42 am
I own/bred pugs for years. They do not eat carbs, back molars don’t even have plague. Just raw meat and bone and organ, and of course bones every day. No carbs, no plaque.
Comment by Lori P — August 31, 2010 @ 6:45 am
Lori wrote: “No carbs, no plaque.”
Lori, I’m so happy you’ve had the experience you’ve had, but I stopped feeding carbs to my dogs in 1996. Some of them still get tartar, which begins its life as plaque. I have been feeding raw since 1986. I know my way around a dog’s mouth, believe me.
There really are no magic bullets. I know you want to believe there are. Everyone does. But it doesn’t make it true.
Comment by Christie Keith — September 1, 2010 @ 8:09 pm