Dental disease is a common issue that affects many dogs, every year. If left untreated for a long time, it can even affect their entire body and can shorten their lifespan too. Just like human beings, pets also experience pain in their teeth; they just can’t express their pain like us. According to research, it has been found that around 80% of pets suffer from the dental disease at the age of 3.
What are the signs of dental disease?
You might be thinking that how would you determine whether your pet is suffering from dental disease or not. Below given are some signs that will let you know about the dental disease:
- Loss of appetite
- Bad breathe
- Drooling food from the mouth
- Mouth bleeding
- Discolored teeth
The first symptom that shows your dog is suffering from dental disease is bad breath. Majority of dog owners feel that the bad breath is quite normal in case of dogs. But, that’s not true! The reason for this is the accumulation of bacteria in the mouth, which results in dental disease. Too much pain can affect the normal behavior of your pets and you may start noticing aggressive behavior in them later on.
This, with time, makes it difficult for them to have their meals too. You may observe that they start chewing food from the other side, where there is no pain. Or they can start swallowing food directly, without chewing it properly. This is not good for the pets as it can result in digestive issues. You can also look at the gum line of your pets for signs of tartar buildup or plaque. It’s important to choose an experienced pet dental specialist who can treat the issue in an effective way.
What are the causes of pet’s dental disease?
Just like human beings, clean teeth are important for pets too. In order to remove food particles as well as bacteria from the mouth, we brush our teeth on a daily basis. Isn’t it? What about pets? As a pet owner, it’s your responsibility to brush the teeth of your pets daily. The major cause of this disease is the buildup of tartar. It generally begins at gums and if left untreated for a long time, it can also cover the complete tooth.
Accumulation of tartar results in gum inflammation and gingivitis which arises the need of contacting the vet. In such cases, your vet may ask you to brush your pet’s teeth on a regular basis and can show you some brushing techniques. Gingivitis can also result in periodontal disease which can cause severe issues.
The bone may get destroyed resulting in loss of teeth. Even infection, if enters the bloodstream, can affect the kidneys and can cause organ diseases.
What should you do if your pet shows signs of dental disease?
If you observe all the above-mentioned signs in your pet then it’s an indication that your pet is suffering from dental diseases. In such cases, it’s important to get in contact with the vet as early as possible before the condition becomes worse. The veterinarian can examine and clean the teeth of your pet.
Your vet may perform an X-ray in order to look for the disease since it’s not possible to look everything in the mouth with naked eyes. Dental cleaning on a regular basis can keep the mouth of your pet healthy and free of infections.
Give your pet proper dental care
One can prevent dental disease in pets with proper dental care checkups. Let’s see what one can do in order to keep the pet away from dental disease:
- Visit the veterinarian twice a year for the checkup of your pet’s teeth.
- Brush the teeth of your pet daily in order to keep their mouth healthy and infection free. Make sure not to make use of human toothpaste for brushing the pet’s teeth. Since they are not suitable for pets and can result in vomiting too. The toothpaste for pets generally has chicken flavor as pets don’t like minty flavors that we humans love the most.
- You can give your pets some dental treats too for cleaning their teeth. Not only it will clean the teeth, but also let your dog enjoy the taste of the snack. The texture of these dental chews is effective in removing plaque from the teeth and keeps it healthy too.
- Add dental washes in the water as it will kill all the germs and remove bad odor from their mouth completely.
- Taking care of your pet and with the help of a veterinarian, you can improve the health of your pet.
Wrap Up
Dental disease is a big issue and if ignored, it can be life threatening too. However, one can prevent the issue by taking care of the dog’s oral health properly. This way, your pet will be able to enjoy more and can lead a healthy lifestyle.
