Brush my pet's teeth? Hahahahahahah."

by Dr. Leyla Wirth

Think for a minute about how your teeth feel when you haven’t had a chance to brush them.  Pretty filmy, right?  Now think about what happens when teeth aren’t brushed for months or years.  Yikes!!  It makes me wonder how our pets must feel.  Many owners will laugh at us when we suggest brushing their pet’s teeth or are reluctant to do so, but it is so important that we actually made a video to show you how to get started (click here for video).  And not that we don’t want to see you, but regular brushing at home may mean fewer dental procedures over the course of your pet's life; not only does this decrease the need for general anesthesia, but it helps your pocket book, too.  So why is brushing so important?  Well, let’s take a look at what happens over time with your pet’s teeth. 

We’ll start with a little lesson in anatomy. 

We’ll keep it simple and there won’t be any quizzes.  But, understanding the structure of the tooth and surrounding tissue will help with understanding how dental disease develops in your pet’s mouth and why brushing is so important. Take a look at the picture to the right.  Take a good look at the gingival sulcus and the pulp canal.  We’ll come back to that.

Dental disease is progressive
Early stages of dental disease are reversible but if allowed to continue, permanent damage can occur and your pet’s overall health suffers.  The process starts out insidiously enough with that slimy film on the crown of the tooth.  The film, called plaque, is a mixture of bacteria and residue from the food your pet eats. Plaque can be removed with regular brushing of the teeth.  If the plaque isn’t removed with regular brushing, this film hardens into something called calculus.   Calculus is so hard that it cannot be removed with brushing.  As I’ll discuss below, calculus can lead to even bigger problems.  That’s why it’s so important to brush!  And... brush the teeth three times a week, not just when the dog is at the groomer.

Calculus (mineralized deposits on teeth)
Early on, calculus is found primarily on the exposed tooth surface – the part that you can see if you dare peek in your pet’s mouth.  But remember that gingival sulcus?  Calculus is like a magnet for more calculus and eventually the calculus expands and starts to creep under the gums into the sulcus.  This is when big problems happen.  Here, the bacteria in the hardened calculus infect the gums and cause inflammation. That’s called gingivitis.  Gingivitis is reversible but if left untreated, the infection and inflammation will spread to the tissues that support the tooth in the mouth.  This process is called periodontal disease.  Periodontal disease affects both the soft tissue and the bone that supports the tooth in the socket.  As periodontal disease advances, the bone around the tooth is destroyed, and the tooth loosens.  Ouch!!  Our goal is to catch problems early, when they are reversible.  By doing so, we can limit your pet’s discomfort and improve their quality of life.

Brushing your pet’s teeth is the single most effective means of preventing irreversible dental disease.  But, we all know how hard this can be.  So, what happens if dental disease is already present?  Stay tuned and next time we’ll talk about evaluating pets with dental disease and things we can do to help.