Essential dental care for your pets

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Did you know that four out of five Australian pets over the age of three years will experience some sort of dental disease?
It is also true that 80 percent of adult animals will have some degree of dental disease that becomes more severe with age, therefore it’s so important to focus on caring for you pet’s teeth at a young age, avoiding the possibility of costly surgical and medical treatments in the future.

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What causes tooth decay?

When Cats and Dogs cease eating the diet they’ve evolved on for millions of years – a raw meat and bone diet – and switch to a meal plan that includes a high level of carbohydrate-rich, processed dry and tinned food, tooth decay becomes an issue.

The affect is an accumulation of plaque on the tooth surface, which in turn calcifies to become bacteria-rich tartar. When that bacteria invades your pets’ gums it causes painful gingivitis and erodes the tooth root attachment, resulting in damage and tooth loss. These bacteria also invade into the bloodstream, and can cause disease in other organs, like the heart and kidney.

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How can you care for a pet’s teeth?

Feed a balanced fresh meat diet that will naturally maintain your pets’ teeth and gums by creating correctly balanced saliva and an oral environment that naturally cleans and helps to prevent plaque formation.

Bones are nature’s toothbrush and play an integral role in dental hygiene for dogs and cats. The process of macerating the meat and bones actually massages the animal’s teeth and gums, cleaning away any food residues or tartar development. This prevents plaque formation, bad breath, dental cavities, gingivitis, and expensive veterinary teeth scaling and extractions.

Check your pet’s mouth on a regular basis by gently lifting the flaps of your dog or cat’s gums and have a quick look at the teeth you can see there - pay attention to the colour of the gums, any developing ‘lumps’, signs of broken/chipped teeth and areas that seem/look painful. Also ask your vet to perform an oral exam during regular check ups.