Pet Dental Health

since today is February 1st it marks the first day of national pet dental awareness month.
Periodontal disease is the leading cause of dental disease in pets. 80% of dogs will be affected by age 3 and 70% cats will be affected by age 2. Periodontitis is the inflammation of gums causing bleeding of the gums, tooth loss, bad breath and even in severe cases loss of the jaw bone. It can even affect internal organs like the heart. In extreme cases can reduce your pets life expectancy by 2 years!
Periodontitis is caused by plaque and tartar buildup. Like us pets get plaque buildup from the foods they eat. It's a sticky, invisible biofilm made of bacteria, if plaque is not removed it becomes tartar in 48 hours. Tartar becomes hard and calcified allowing even more bacteria to stick to teeth and surrounding tissues. Once plaque becomes tartar it cannot be removed by brushing and has to be removed by scaling by a Veterinarian. The cost of a dental cleaning can range from $50 to $300 depending on your location and if anesthesia is needed. Your veterinarian can also provide a sealant that keeps the bacteria from coming back. For certain dogs and cats though it can be quite risky to go under anesthesia.
Here are a few simple ways to combat periodontitis.
recommendations:
water additive
www.chewy.com/dental-fresh-or...
Dental Chews
www.chewy.com/ark-naturals-br...
www.chewy.com/oravet-hygiene-...
oravet dental gel
Your pet will love this OraVet Plaque Prevention Dog Dental Gel, 8 count:
app.chewy.com/ZT9uawmTcxb