# How to clean your dog's teeth



## Lori541 (Dec 17, 2009)

*A dog’s teeth can develop tartar build-up, plaque and cavities the same way our teeth can*. As you begin to brush your dog’s teeth, they’ll become more comfortable with the procedure over time.

Brushing your dog’s teeth should become part of your routine. *It is recommended that you clean your dog’s teeth at home at least twice a week*. Here’s what to do to keep their teeth strong and healthy.

Gather all of your supplies and prep as much as possible prior to starting. You can use a toothbrush, washcloth or gauze wrapped around your finger and apply a small amount of the doggie toothpaste to the tip.

*Never use a regular toothpaste*. Purchase a toothpaste made specifically for dogs from a pet store.

*It’s best to do the cleaning when your dog is relaxed*. If your dog is ready to play, it may be difficult to get him to sit still while you clean.
Find a position that allows you to easily access your dog’s mouth/teeth.

Gently lift the upper lip on one side and begin brushing in a circular motion. Refresh with more toothpaste as needed.

As you’re brushing and cleaning, make sure you clean the gum line (where the teeth meet the gums) because this is where many problems start.

Work your way around the mouth brushing each tooth. Use care to thoroughly clean the back teeth as this is where many problems can occur as well.

When all of the top teeth are cleaned, continue with the same procedure to clean the bottom teeth.

Complete this cleaning twice a week and visit your veterinarian once a year for a professional cleaning.


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## Corinthian (Sep 21, 2009)

I've trained by boys to accept the use of a scaler, which helps me get any calculus that the brushing does not prevent. I also use a cloth wrapped around my index to quickly clean any fuzziness on the teeth and of course brushing.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Or feed raw.

No one I know has ever cleaned their dog's teeth.

I'm just sayin'.


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## Corinthian (Sep 21, 2009)

FilleBelle said:


> Or feed raw.
> 
> No one I know has ever cleaned their dog's teeth.
> 
> I'm just sayin'.


Raw fed dogs suffer from the same incidence of dental disease....


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Corinthian said:


> Raw fed dogs suffer from the same incidence of dental disease....


As...what? Dogs that eat kibble and don't get their teeth brushed? Or dogs that eat kibble and get their teeth brushed twice a week? What does wet food do to the situation? 

I would be extremely surprised to read a study that conclusively proved raw food is not better for a dog's oral health than a commercially manufactured diet, but I've been wrong before. I've never fed raw and I've never had (or personally known of a dog) with any type of dental disease, so anecdotally I would have to agree with you. In my personal experience, neither dogs that are fed kibble nor dogs that are fed raw get dental disease.

I go far out of the way of the average pet owner to take care of my dogs' health and yet I continue to remain skeptical of canine tooth brushing. Dogs of all shapes and sizes have been healthy for hundreds and hundreds of years without benefit of oral care beyond their diet and recreational chewing, which causes me to suspect dog toothpaste and toothbrushes are essentially a scam.

Looking forward to your research!


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## Corinthian (Sep 21, 2009)

FilleBelle said:


> Looking forward to your research!


You made the claim. I'm going with the null hypothesis. It's up to you to provide evidence.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

I would have to agree with the feeding of raw. I have not had to have Chloe's or Nell's teeth cleaned, and they always get a clean bill of health from the vet. I don't really feed raw myself, but they regularly get beef soup bones, and their teeth stay pretty white. If I cut back on the soup bones, their teeth start to become yellow. I've also got them used to the scaler as well if needed. I usually go over their teeth myself with the scaler maybe once every 6 months to get what little the soup bones don't get clean. Now that I have Lucky, the new guy in the household, his front top canines are fairly dark with a little black, but not a lot, I've started him on soup bones and am hoping that the problem will reverse, as I've heard of people say that once they started raw, the teeth went from quite yellow to near pearl white.


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## Lonewolfblue (Oct 28, 2007)

Well, now after 2 soup bones over the last 4 days, Lucky's canines are 50% better and looking good. A few more bones over the next few days they should be clean.


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## FilleBelle (Aug 1, 2007)

Corinthian said:


> You made the claim. I'm going with the null hypothesis. It's up to you to provide evidence.


Provide evidence of what? That I've never brushed a dog's tooth?



Corinthian said:


> Raw fed dogs suffer from the same incidence of dental disease....


I assumed you must have had a reason for saying this and I was interested to know what it was. Do you not have a reason? I was never trying to pick a fight. As I said before, I've never met a dog with dental disease, so anecdotally I would say it doesn't matter what dogs are fed, none of them will have bad teeth. I'm guessing that isn't true, though, and I was hoping you'd provide me with some more information on the topic.


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## BobSD (Feb 1, 2008)

Let me assure you of one thing, although the oral cavity of a dog is similar to humans, "not all dogs" need to have there teeth brushed! The best way to know this is just look at the teeth and gingiva periodically. I also observed that smaller breeds may need more attention then larger breeds, like my doberman never had his teeth cleaned (professionally), in his life, but I did an occasional scaling when needed, never a brushing. 

Now I have two smaller breeds, one with ortho problems, so she needs almost daily attention, brushing and scaling. So diet raw or kibble makes no difference, it gets trapped, and needs to be removed. 

Lets face it nature designed animals teeth so that do not need to be cleaned by humans, but with domestication, and human made dog food, can create problems for some dogs. You have to be the judge for your individual dog or dogs.


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## GypsyJazmine (Nov 27, 2009)

I feed raw & it keeps my dogs teeth sparkly white to the gum line!...I've brought kibble fed dogs into my home that had some yucky buildup from the gum line down...It took very little time feeding raw to get their teeth into nice shape!


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