# does dog toothpaste actually do anything?



## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

Hi,
I have a question about the science behind dog toothpaste. Does it actually do anything? Would you be just as well off brushing their teeth without the dog toothpaste?

For humans, I thought toothpaste is beneficial because it has little shells of diatoms in it that help polish the "film" off your teeth before it can mineralize. But dog toothpaste doesn't seem very gritty - does it have any of those mechanical polishing benefits associated with human toothpaste?

Are there chemical benefits to using dog toothpaste?

I also find it interesting that with most pet stuff, there's usually a few different companies that sell similar thing. With dog toothpaste, there seems to be only two. And I'm not sure if the two brands to toothpaste commonly found at Petsmart are any different. I think the brands are NutriVet and Petrodex.

Of course, I know not to use human toothpaste


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## CoverTune (Mar 11, 2007)

A good dog toothpaste will have enzymes in it that help to break down the bacteria & tartar on the teeth.


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## osdbmom (Feb 15, 2011)

we use dog toothpaste, and so far, zoey's teeth are really healthy and white. Id just rather do that then run into big dental problems down the road.


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

My Dachshund and Elkhound came to us with horrendous teeth. In fact, I didn't even think there was a tooth underneath all the plaque on my Dachshunds teeth. We started brushing with Petrodex and the results were dramatic.


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## kmmcjones (Mar 24, 2011)

I use CET and they have beef, liver and poultry flavors. My dogs love their teeth brushed!


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## doginthedesert (Jun 18, 2010)

It certainly does something! I was horrified by how many dogs have bad teeth, so when we adopted our guy we started brushing nightly. Within a week there was a huge difference in the smell of his mouth and look of the teeth. Now a year later the vet confirms that his teeth are vastly improved. Some of our success has to do with switching to raw, but even before that I saw how much the toothpaste and nightly brushing does.


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## dogclass (Feb 16, 2011)

Thanks for sharing all of your experiences.

We brush our dog every other day or so, but so far it's been more experimental brushing to get him used to it. The brushing I"ve been doing is without toothpaste. The toothpaste is too tasty to get in a brush edgewise 

We were thinking of continuing to dry brush, and that would be most of the dental care he gets aside from bones. Do you think there's any benefit to rubbing toothpaste on this teeth seperately from brushing? Like just letting him eat toothpaste?


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## ThoseWordsAtBest (Mar 18, 2009)

It's just important to get the tooth paste on his teeth. With my Dachshund this means letting him basically nom the brush and paste. You don't brush in the same way humans brush their teeth. Just make sure the tooth paste is swiped over the teeth.


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## Xeph (May 7, 2007)

I no longer "brush" teeth, as the brush really doesn't remove the softened tartar. I've taken to using a Qtip and I place a glob only on the molars. I find those are really the problem teeth...the freaking molars, way at the back.

When the tartar has softened up after a couple of applications, I scrape it off.

We use petzlife oral gel.


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## Mr. V (Jan 28, 2010)

You can try taking a 4x4 gauze pad and unraveling it so that it's only 1 ply thick and then wrap it over your finger and it makes for a nice little finger brush


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