10 Important Reasons to Clean Your Dog’s Teeth Often
When it comes to cleaning our dogs, many dog owners overlook oral hygiene. American Veterinary Dental College estimates that most dogs develop signs of periodontal disease at two to three years. Many dog owners take the bad breath in dogs as a common thing in dogs; barely do they know that the main sign of periodontal disease is bad breath. Here are ten reasons why you should clean your dog’s teeth regularly.
- To Prevent Periodontal Disease
Estimates show that at the age of two, eighty percent dogs begin to show signs of periodontal disease. Dogs develop inflammations around the structures that support the teeth such as the roots, the gums, and the bone around the root as well as the ligaments anchoring the roots to the jawbones. To prevent periodontal disease, you need to clean your dog’s forty-two teeth often to ensure it remains healthy.
- To Prevent Formation of Plaque
Some processes that happen in our mouths take place in a dog’s mouth too. When foodstuffs are left on the teeth, a bacterium known as biofilm coats the surface of the affected teeth. When this coat is left unwashed for seventy-two hours, it calcifies and turns into a cement-hard layer. The layer is microscopic, and the dog may not notice it. Over time, hundreds of these cement-hard layers accumulate leading to the formation of a yellow-brown gunk. This gunk is called plaque. To prevent your dogs from developing plaque, you need to clean its teeth regularly.
- To Prevent Calcification of Biofilm
To prevent biofilm from calcifying, you need to brush your dog’s teeth before seventy-two hours are over. Regular brushing of teeth keeps plaque in check thus ensuring that your dog’s teeth are healthy and sharp.
- To Prevent Your Dog From Loose Teeth
Plaque is an enemy of your dog’s teeth. Plaque contains bacteria which cause inflammations and infections around your gum and gum recession leading to bone destruction in the root region of your dog’s teeth. Gingivitis and bone loss leads to loosening of teeth. This is a painful condition that you don’t want your dog to experience.
- To Prevent Body Infections
An inflamed gum is a danger not to dental hygiene only, but to body health as well. Bacteria can gain access to your dog’s body through a damaged gum and cause infection in other body organs. Plaques might be deposited on the valves of the heart causing serious body harm.
- To Ease Pain in Dogs
Don’t do not speak. When they are in pain due to periodontal disease, they cannot communicate to you. You might realize that your dog prefers soft foods, doesn’t tug vigorously with its toys or it rubs its face to reduce discomfort and pain.
- To Prevent Your Teeth From Wearing Out
Dogs are tough on their teeth. They are always biting hard objects like bones, toys and other objects. This tends to make teeth wear out faster. Worn out teeth are severely painful.
- To Promote Healthy Breath
Dogs develop bad breath due to the accumulation of dirt and bacteria in the mouth. Bad breath may discourage you from playing with your dog as you won’t feel comfortable under foul smell. To correct this, clean its teeth to promote fresh breath.
- To Look for Trauma
When dogs play with their toys, they play rough and tough. They may break or fracture their teeth during their game. It’s hard to know if your dog’s teeth are cracked, especially, if you don’t spend much time observing your dog. To ensure that you are on top of your dog’s health, clean its teeth once in a while and check for any trauma such as fractured or broken teeth. Look for cracks too.
- To Save Money
Brushing your dog’s teeth takes a few minutes and saves you money as you won’t require professional dentistry services often. A dirty dog will call for a professional check up regularly, and this will cost you more money than a well maintained dental formula. If your dog develops gum diseases and bone damage due to bacterial infections, this will require anesthesia and possibly surgery. In the long-run, this will be an expensive undertaking.
Your dog’s dental health is an important factor to consider in your monthly budget. Buy your canine companion toothbrush, and toothpaste specifically meant for use by dogs. Human toothpaste contains fluorides and oxides supposed to spit out, but your dog is not intelligent enough to know this; hence will swallow them. A healthy dental formula will not only give your dog a better smile, but it will keep your family healthy too. Your kids will play with the dog without any worry. Now you know why it is important to clean your dog’s teeth.