Caring for your dog's teeth is very important. Their teeth need to be well-taken care of to prevent issues with their oral health, which can not only affect their mouths, it can affect the health of their organs as well. Your dog's teeth and gums need to be cleaned by you and professionally cleaned by the veterinarian. Their teeth also need to be examined by the veterinarian to be sure there aren't any dental concerns. Read on for a few things you need to do on your end to take good care of your dog's teeth, including signs of dental concerns to watch out for.
Brush Their Teeth Weekly
You should be taking the time to brush your dog's teeth at least once or twice per week. For this, you're going to need a canine toothbrush, canine toothpaste, and a lot of trust from your dog. This may not be something that your dog is going to take lightly, and it may not like this at first, so it's going to take some time to be able to clean their teeth without any issues. To help build some trust, you can allow it to lick some of the toothpaste from the toothbrush, or even chew a bit on the toothbrush so it gets used to it being in its mouth and the feeling of it in its mouth. When brushing its teeth, you need to try to get the front and back teeth and their gums as much as you can. Again, this is going to take time.
Watch For Signs Of Dental Issues
You need to pay attention to the signs of a dental health issue, such as pawing at the mouth or the face, which could indicate an infection. Swelling in the face or the muzzle could indicate a tumor in the gums or an infection in the jaw. You may also notice that your dog isn't able to eat. If it isn't eating as it once did, takes much longer to chew its food, or isn't interested in its food at all, it could be a dental concern. Foul breath can also be a sign of a dental issue. If your dog has awful breath, more-so than normal, it may be an infection or gum disease.
If you aren't doing what you can to take care of your dog's teeth, it could end up causing other health concerns as well. Get it into the veterinarian for pet dental care.
There's a popular saying that goes, "not all heroes wear a cape." And it's true! Sometimes the heroes we need are not caped superheros, but veterinarians. When your dog is sick or your cat is ailing, this is who you need to call to save the day. The veterinarian can look your pet over, figure out what's wrong, and recommend the best treatment. Since pets cannot speak human languages, this might as well be a super power. We really appreciate the work that vets do, and we do regard them as heroes. We honor their work with this blog, which we write for readers like you.