Dogs and Teeth Cleaning

We have two cockers. Never clean their teeth and the last vet visit got very positive comments
What we use is something called “For Dogs Plaque” the company is Paw Originals. We use to use Plaque off Don’t know why the change husband gets it off net. Older dog whose teeth were a bit grubby are are really white too. Dogs fed on fresh food
The product not cheap but very little in comparison to vet bills and tooth loss. Think it’s seaweed based

We used to clean our cat’s teeth. She wasn’t keen.

I cleaned her teeth when she was a puppy but not any more. Rather than dental sticks which are gobbled in seconds(Labrador what else?) I give her solid meat sticks like jerky which she has to chew on. I don’t like rawhide sticks though.

I give my dog " plaque off", stirred into her breakfast. It does not remove the plaque but loosens it. I brush her teeth 😬 with an ordinary toothbrush and peanut butter flavoured toothpaste. She had a general anaesthetic for dental examination and teeth cleaning last year when the vet removed plaque and a couple of dodgy teeth. Prior to that visit she had been leaving food sometimes. Following the visit she ate normally again so I think she'd had some toothache. She's 8 years old. Actually her teeth are in better condition than mine!

We did use Plaque Off for a while but it didn’t seem to help much. Dentastix, likewise, are gobbled up in seconds. Also a vet nurse told us they are highly calorific. I will look into the other product mentioned, but in the meantime we will book both dogs in for the treatment.
Thanks for all your input and suggestions.

Our last dog never had her teeth cleaned - they were still in good nick at 14. But that’s probably because she never liked dog biscuits (given a Bonio she’d just bury it!) but adored raw carrots, raw cauliflower stalks, anything similarly raw and crunchy.

My dogs are fed expensive fish based kibble. They have raw veg as treats. Their kibble is supplemented by tinned sardines. Training treats are dog pate, or I cook ox heart and liver, tuna bake.
They have a raw marrow bone once or twice a week, treats after tea, Bonio or dried fish skins. Teeth good - I put it down to marrow bones and fish stick

My dog loves carrots and crunchy celery or cauliflower stalks as a treat and has kibble which is crunchy. I don’t use plaque stuff in his food . But as a hygienist, I do have an old scaler and scale his teeth occasionally. It does take two , my dh to hold his head and me scaling, but he lets me do it .

I used to clean our last rescues teeth and at 15 the vet commented she could be in an advert her teeth were so good. The present rescue had a lot of problems including brown teeth when she came to us. She needed very gentle handling so I look in her mouth and she is fine with that. Our groomer offers tooth cleaning. She has her own toothhead which we had to initially pay for then it is between £10 and £15 and the change in her teeth after a fewtimes was marvellous. The vet commented that her teeth are fine. They wanted to put her under a general anaesthetic and charge £150. As she was quite traumatised when we had her and extremely distressed when she has to go to thr vet I thought the gentler option of a gradual cleanse was better. She does eat some kibble and has a carrot so has good things to chew on.

Vets are forever pushing dental care for dogs and cats. It doesn't matter what you take them in for, they'll also recommend some kind of dental treatment. It's a money spinner.

My vet checks their teeth and says they’re doing well.. my spaniel is heading for her eight birthday and had some plaque but the vet happy

Maybe some vets recommend unnecessary treatment but that has not been my experience

Some breeds are more prone to plaque build up than others. My vet said a couple of years ago that my whippet would need a de scale under sedation at some point but didn’t give me any options. I started giving her ostrich bones to chew in ( they’re porous and don’t splinter) and it cleared most of the plaque. I no longer give them to her as her gums seem to bleed when I do ( which is a pity as she loves them). I use plaque off every day and she has a Skippers fish stick at least once a day. I was brushing her teeth in the evening but got out of the habit of doing so; I must restart. Another vet I saw recently said her teeth are better than his own dogs. It annoys me that my vet didn’t give me any advice. I asked him about the teeth cleaning that groomers can do and he said he’d never heard of it.I’m afraid that since most vet practices have been taken over by big American companies I don’t have the faith in them that I used to have.

My dogs eat raw food, and have a meaty bone to knaw on every day. Their teeth and breath are great.

I see raw meaty bones as great for dogs to enjoy. The added benefit is good teeth.
My spaniel is a bit of a princess to be frank, doesn’t like the rain, snuggles up and doses but, give her a bone and she reverts to being a dog

Our dogs are fed kibble, get raw carrots as treats. I don’t give them bones as I’d read they were bad for them. They would need to be sedated for the descaling, which I worry might be too much for my 13 year old springer. On the other hand, I don’t want him in pain from bad teeth! A conundrum.

If you buy raw meaty bones that are not weight bearing, eg ribs, they are fine. Our local butcher puts some together after butchering and they are great for their teeth and enrichment

My dog has always been raw fed and loves a chicken wing and a bit of carrot and I “treat” him to ultra processed chew sticks. His teeth are foul and he will need a dental soon. Thankfully his back teeth aren’t so bad though.

We bought the stuff you put in water to clean their teeth but haven’t used it yet. Our contrary cockapoo prefers to drink from the watering cans outside and ignores the clean bowl of water and expensive pet water fountain inside. It is such a pain as we have to let her outside in the foulest weather when she is thirsty. So far vet is pleased with her teeth.

We do ours every couple of months. Dog loves it.

My old dog had really smelly breath and was poorly with a gum infection which resulted in her having to have 6 teeth removed (whilst we were away on holiday, fortunately we had an excellant dog sitter)so after all that the vet recommended a toothbrush and doggy toothpaste. She really didn't like it at first and I really wished we had started cleaning her teeth when we first had her as a pup. We gave her raw carrots and dried food and bought those dental sticks, but she still had bad teeth.

I regret I didn't clean the cats teeth and i wish I had started when they were kittens. They had to go under anaesthetic to have their teeth cleaned. nobody ever mentioned cleaning to us but that was about 40 years ago
I used to buy "greenies" online for the dog ( we had her much later) and it took some years or the firm to make similar for the cats
I help look after an elderly dog that has terrible tartar but the vet states that it is the thing that is keeping what teeth she has remaining in place.

My groomer cleans my dogs teeth twice a year with good results

Our pet groomer cleans our mini Dachshund's teeth. £20 and no sedation.

My mum has a 14 year old staffie and she has cleaned her teeth every night since she got her milk teeth. She missed a few days during the time she was losing her milk teeth but only a few. The vet says her teeth are those of an 18 month old dog so she must be doing something right.