Brush those teeth every day!!

[107barney]

Little 3 year old Winston had a dental yesterday...It's only been a year since his last one.


He lost 10...yes 10...teeth!! Most were small teeth but there was a lot of bone loss in his lower jaw. I was so upset to learn he lost teeth....felt like I should do a better job for him....but he has a tiny little lower jaw and not enough room in his mouth. He had some bone loss as well. So, the teeth were extracted now rather than later to make sure that the periodontal disease he has doesn't linger and affect more important neighboring teeth.


I do pretty well for brushing at home, but I haven't been doing it daily. The dentist said that daily brushing is the gold standard! Chewing can be important due to the saliva in the mouth so I have to have Winston chewing more or at least giving him crunchy snacks like milk bones or cookies to get his saliva flowing more.


All in all, I feel badly that he lost so many teeth, but I am glad that the early detection and treatment will hopefully help him in the long term to live a healthy life and maybe prevent more important teeth from going bad.


So this is just a reminder -- BRUSH BRUSH BRUSH!

[ladyjane]

I was told a minimum of 3 times/week but that daily is best. I do brush a couple of mine every day....the easy ones. haha

Thanks for a great reminder!

[Maximo]

Poor Winston.

I agree about the saliva. Teddy has such a dry mouth compared to Max. I often give him water to lick off my fingers, and little snacks to encourage saliva production.

[mimimomo]

I am genuinely curious...does Winston's face look different w/the loss of all that teeth (& bone too)? Hope he's not in too much pain, poor little guy!

I brush my guys teeth every night, but I am seeing tartar build up on Mimi's back molars, the big sharp ones. She's a plaque magnet, needs dental cleaning once a year.

What does saliva do?

[107barney]

He looks the same. He didn't lose facial bone - just bone around the teeth area.
I asked about saliva and they said "Saliva is Mother Natures natural rinsing solution to keep teeth clean, but has no other inherent qualities beyond that."

[Cherie6446]

I hear ya! As we communicated on my thread about Zoey losing 11 teeth the same day as your little one I can tell you teeth brushing is going on the to do list as soon as her stitches are gone. I didn't know about the saliva thing. Good info.

[AllDogBoots]

Poor Winston. Cooper also had a dental and I was told to brush his teeth everyday. I really need to be more diligent about it.

[yorkietalkjilly]

I brush Tibbe's teeth almost every day - I do skip occasional days to give him a little break as I'm always doing something to him from his tooth brushings, ear cleanings, his twice daily eye washing/cleanings to doing his nails once - twice weekly with the Gentle Paws, brushing him, clipping hair from his paw pads, from around his anus and penis/belly area, ear tips, bathing him, etc . He's not lost any teeth since his first dental cleaning a month or so after I first got him when he was 9 mos. old, was only an older pup but had a terrible brown film on his tiny teeth throughout his little mouth, 3 permanent teeth, I think it was, too bad to save and several retained baby teeth that had helped cause his permanent tooth decay. The vet said it was his poor food and dental care where he'd been living that caused that horrible brown film on his little teeth. Once he had his first dental cleaning/tooth extractions, we started desensitizing him to tooth brushings at home - very slowly working up from just touching the toothbrush to his lip for a few days and gradually adding steps to it until he would allow a full-mouth brushing daily and I've brushed them almost every day since. It's paid off - he's not had to have a tooth pulled since and has yearly professional dental cleanings by the vet. He always gets a big celebration, lots of praise and a couple of treats after each tooth brushing session to make it worth it to him.

[intilis]

I think genetics plays the biggest part in dental health. My Phoebe lost 6 teeth at her first dental (3 years old). I was so upset, I made sure to brush every day after that. She had her next dental 9 months later (I wanted to be ahead of the game), and she lost 3 canines! I asked the vet what I was doing wrong, and he said it was genetics. I KNOW that I did everything I could to keep her teeth healthy, but I'm still really upset that she lost 9 teeth in 2 years. I plan on 6 month dentals from here on out. Hopefully that will help save the teeth she has left.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by intilis

I think genetics plays the biggest part in dental health. My Phoebe lost 6 teeth at her first dental (3 years old). I was so upset, I made sure to brush every day after that. She had her next dental 9 months later (I wanted to be ahead of the game), and she lost 3 canines! I asked the vet what I was doing wrong, and he said it was genetics. I KNOW that I did everything I could to keep her teeth healthy, but I'm still really upset that she lost 9 teeth in 2 years. I plan on 6 month dentals from here on out. Hopefully that will help save the teeth she has left.

I totally agree about genetics playing a big part in which dogs have poor dentition but I don't let that stop me in my brushing and regular vet checks of the mouth in case it's not a factor in my dog. It's got to be so disheartening when you brush every day, get the dog's dental health professionally checked every 6 months, get dentals when they are recommended and still they lose teeth. Unless you already have your dog under the care of one, I believe I would seek out a veterinary dentist if I had a dog said to be predisposed genetically to have dental problems and had lost so many teeth already.

[107barney]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

I totally agree about genetics playing a big part in which dogs have poor dentition but I don't let that stop me in my brushing and regular vet checks of the mouth in case it's not a factor in my dog. It's got to be so disheartening when you brush every day, get the dog's dental health professionally checked every 6 months, get dentals when they are recommended and still they lose teeth. Unless you already have your dog under the care of one, I believe I would seek out a veterinary dentist if I had a dog said to be predisposed genetically to have dental problems and had lost so many teeth already.

That's exactly where I go...to a vet dentist. This is Winston's third professional dental with xrays. I did not have him until he was was a year old. At 10 mos old, he was neutered and his teeth were cleaned by the rescue's general vet.
It is indeed disheartening with these efforts to still have them lose teeth but at least I don't have to blame myself for failing to do what he needs. All in all, I'm happy teeth that are diseased are gone for his long term health. I'm using an oral rinse for two weeks due to stitches to keep him clean.

[107barney]

So what I meant was that Winston has his teeth cleaned:
At 10 mos
Professional dentist cleaning at 16 mos
Another cleaning at 2 years old
This last cleaning at 3 years old

Brushing done regularly, at least 4x a week.

With that, I'm convinced it's genetic for him.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by mimimomo

What does saliva do?

Here is an in depth article explaining how saliva keeps the mouth healthy:
Saliva - Spit - American Dental Association

We brushed today and thought of you Jenny. Thank you for the CET vanilla mint toothpaste.

My goal is to be like Emily, who brushes Taycie's teeth after every meal, and like Lisa, who uses the Sonicare on Sugar. So far, we are up to 1 second with the Sonicare on before the boys pull away.

[LuvTaycieGirl]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Here is an in depth article explaining how saliva keeps the mouth healthy:
Saliva - Spit - American Dental Association

We brushed today and thought of you Jenny. Thank you for the CET vanilla mint toothpaste.

My goal is to be like Emily, who brushes Taycie's teeth after every meal, and like Lisa, who uses the Sonicare on Sugar. So far, we are up to 1 second with the Sonicare on before the boys pull away.

Hahahaha! You are too Funny! Yes.. I did just brush that little twerps teeth

[107barney]

Just wanted to add that if you're not having xrays at the time of cleanings you're likely not discovering all... And many vets lack training in dentistry and maxillofacial surgery. People are always complaining that vets don't know about nutrition but dentistry is a far worse issue. The dentist we see isn't a fan of sonicare and prefers mechanical brushing. He's also not a fan of sealants like oravet but many swear by it. I've brushed Teddy's teeth and winnys teeth at the same time for a year since their last dentals a year ago and teddy has zero tartar or gingivitis. Same food, home care, etc yet two very diff mouths.