Home Oral Hygiene

Our best treatment for dental disease is prevention. When oral hygiene is performed daily at home, we can prevent periodontal disease! However, oral hygiene does not treat dental disease, so once the disease is present, it is important to have a veterinarian provide professional care before starting oral home care.

Periodontal disease is a combination of gingivitis (inflammation and swelling of the gums) and periodontitis (inflammation of the structures that surround the tooth, resulting in bone and tooth loss). The key to prevention lies in reducing the buildup of plaque (bacteria in a biofilm) on the tooth surface, consequently reducing inflammation within the mouth.

Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC)

This is a third-party organization
Helps to validate if a product or diet meets its label claims to reduce plaque & calculus buildup
Approved products are evaluated by the VOHC to determine if they meet the criteria for the product’s oral health claims
VOHC does not perform research themselves, but rather, they review the submitted research for the product

Visit the VOHC website for a current list of approved products.

Active Oral Hygiene

• Pet owner actively participates in plaque removal from the tooth surface

• Active home care is superior for the incisor & canine teeth

Types of Active Oral Home Care:

Tooth Brushing (Gold Standard)
Oral Rinses
Barrier Sealants

Tooth Brushing:

Daily brushing with a soft‐bristled nylon toothbrush is the most effective
The soft bristles mechanically remove the plaque biofilm
Bristles can remove plaque ≤ 1-2 mm deep below the gum line
Patients with more advanced periodontal disease & patients with periodontal pockets are ≥ 1-2 mm of depth require professional treatment

Pet toothpaste additives are used to:

Increase palatability (better tasting)
Enhances normally occurring protective salivary mechanisms
Provide chemical control of plaque

Do not use human toothpaste:

Fluoride & detergents in human toothpaste can be toxic to pets when swallowed
Sodium bicarbonate toothpaste can increase the patients’ sodium levels

When to start toothbrushing:

Start as soon as possible, between 8-12 weeks old is best
Your pet does not necessarily need at-home dental care at this age, but at this age, you can familiarize & desensitize them to teeth brushing
Consider minimizing the brushing activity for your pet’s teeth while they are losing their baby teeth because the mouth can be sore during this time period
- Cats 3-6 months old
- Dogs 3-7 months old
Then, when all the adult teeth have erupted, you can resume your pet’s normal tooth-brushing regime

Make toothbrushing fun:

While brushing your pet’s teeth, use a lot of love & praise to build their confidence with you handling their mouth
If they are nervous & struggle, do not scold them or reprimand them, it can increase the fear, stress, & anxiety
Be patient with you & your pet, building new habits takes time & practice!

Recommended Toothbrush:

NIMBY Pediatric Toothbrush

Chlorhexidine Gluconate Oral Rinse:

Inhibits the development of plaque & the development of periodontal disease
Can have a bitter taste
Safe to swallow
Can be used daily
Mechanism:
- Disrupts bacterial cell wall lipoproteins
- Precipitates the bacterial cytoplasm
- Binds to the pellicle & has a prolonged effect

Soluble Zinc Salt Oral Rinse:

Decreases the development of plaque & the development of periodontal disease
Tasteless
Safe to swallow
Can be used daily
Contains ascorbic acid:
- Supports & induces collagen synthesis
- May improve healing following dental scaling &/or oral surgery
Recommended Product(s):
- MAXI/GUARD Oral Cleansing Gel
- MAXI/GUARD Oral Cleansing Wipes

Passive Oral Hygiene

• Chew-based homecare products

• Most effective on the carnassial teeth & the surrounding teeth;

pets do not chew with their entire mouth & therefore areas will be missed

Types of Active Oral Home Care:

Dental Diets
Dental Chews

Prescription Veterinary Dental Diets:

Most effective for the tips of the cusps of the chewing teeth
Chewing can aid in the natural mechanical cleaning of the teeth
Dental diets control plaque through the fiber arrangement within the kibble
The kibble is coarse, compressible, & resistant to tearing
These kibbles are designed to be larger than regular pet food, which increases the amount of chewing

This form of oral hygiene is ineffective at or below the gingival margin. Supragingival plaque & calculus are not inflammatory; therefore, minimal control of gingivitis is gained by calculus control. These diets will not be effective when:

Chewing teeth are absent
Occluding teeth are absent
Pets do not chew their food

NOTE: There is no strong evidence that regular soft diets or hard non-dental diets preferentially lead to greater plaque accumulation or reduction in dogs & cats.

Recommended Product(s):

Over the Counter Diets:
- Eukanuba Adult Maintenance Diet (Dogs)
- Hill's Science Diet Oral Care
Prescription Diets:
- Hill's Prescription Diet Canine t/d
- Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Diets DH
- Royal Canin Dental Diet

Safe Toys & Chews for the Mouth

Rule of Thumb: A good guideline to follow is to not give your pet any toys or treats that you cannot indent with your fingernail because has the potential to break a tooth. This is generally not as big of an issue for cats since they do not chew as aggressively on objects as dogs do.
The Knee Cap Rule: You should be able to bend or break the toy or chew that you want to give your pet. If you were to hit the item against your knee and it is hard or heavy enough to hurt, then you do not want to let your pet chew on it.
Unsafe Toys and Treats: For cats and dogs, we do not recommend raw bones, marrow bones, nylon bones, cow hooves, antlers, or other hard chews because of the damage they can cause to the teeth.

Recommended Products & Brands: