KEEPING YOUR DOG’S TEETH AND GUMS HEALTHY.
After having two dogs come up with periodontal disease and
losing some teeth, I did some research and found two wonderful products. No
tooth brushing!
To prevent and help remove tartar and plaque:
Maxi/Guard is a dental product in gel form. The
bottle is the applicator. When you first get it, there is a small vial of
salts, which you pour into the gel and mix by shaking. After this, you must
store it in the refrigerator between uses.
To use it, simply squeeze out a small bead of gel on to the
back upper gum on each side. Their saliva mixes with it and coats the teeth.
It’s best to do this after the evening feeding. This gel keeps plaque and
tartar off the teeth and removes it, too. It will take a couple of
applications, of course. It also has enzymes, which work to kill the anaerobic
bacteria that cause periodontal disease.
Petrodex Dental Chews look like your ordinary rawhide
chews, but contains an enzyme to keep tartar and plaque from building up and
keep the mouth healthy. Very much like the Maxi/Guard except the dogs like the
fun of chewing it better! It also coats the teeth, so a chew after a meal,
either morning or evening is the best time. One daily is plenty.
I alternate the gel and chews. I might use the gel for a
couple of days, then give a chew. Of course, I have several dogs, so the gel is
cheaper for me. There are about a dozen chews to a package. I bought the chews
for large dogs.
Both of these products are low in price… especially considering how much a teeth-cleaning session with the vet will cost! I ordered several – they keep well – to keep on hand. I ordered them from http://www.kvvet.com **I ordered the Petrodex Dental Chews from Jeffers (http://www.jefferspet.com) for an even better price, but they don’t carry the Maxi/Guard.
To help with the periodontal (ginivitis) disease:
Novadent Oral Cleansing Solution: This pepperment flavored solution is simply squirted on around the upper gums and then you gently massaged the lips over the teeth and gums to get good contact. You use this once daily.
This can be expensive in pet stores, but I found the same 8 oz bottle at one website at a good price and even with shipping costs, it was lower than at my local pet store. I found it at Entirely Pets: http://www.entirelypets.com