celstu1 | 06-08-2012 05:41 AM | Quote:
Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly
(Post 3940614)
You are so blessed. You apparently have a dog not predisposed to dental disease, it sounds like. Others, even with regular brushings & professional vet cleanings, have problems. And some, who have no dental care, get abscesses through the jaw &/or lose a lot of teeth - sometimes all of them due to dental caries & gum disease. You are one graced lady - and Dexter, too!!! | I know!! I feel soooo lucky! My boys too. They are brothers, so hopefully my other guy has the same luck on HIS dental as well. I really am lucky and so are my boys! :) I feel soooo bad for those who do have babies with predisposed dental disease. I met a woman once who had 4 beautiful babies, they were soooo cute, but all of them sadly had to have many many teeth removed. Poor babies!
My vet did say that their size plays a role in their teeth too... since both my boys are bigger, 7.5lbs and 13lbs, their teeth stand a better chance. (that is what the vet said, not me) She said all dogs no matter the size have 42 teeth. So if it's a tiny dog, there is VERY little space between the teeth, which can cause food to stay between teeth and create tooth decay faster than bigger dogs who have more room in their mouths. Even though it's proportional, I guess bigger dogs just fare better dental wise.
Pockets are signs of gum disease, small abscesses in the gum line I guess. Since my vet saw a few small ones, but none that were jeopardizing the teeth themselves, she just gave him antibiotics for a week to make sure that any bacteria that was stirred up during the procedure does not create an infection. |