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>>DR. MILLER: Hi I'm Dr. Miller, a veterinarian at Banfield Pet Hospital and this is cowboy
As your partner in pet health care I'd like to help you maintain a healthy
happy relationship with your pet
Staying on top of dental care is extremely important and can add years to your pet's
life
Pets can have the same dental problems as humans including
tartar, gingivitis, and dental disease
Three out of every four pets over the age of three
already have visible dental disease
It's very important to stay on top of your pet's oral health
because dental disease can cause serious problems in other organs like
the heart, liver and kidneys.
There's several ways you can help keep your pet's teeth clean.
You can use dental treats
dental diets
you can brush their teeth daily
and it's very important to remember to go to your veterinarian for regular oral exams
and annual dental cleanings
Cowboy and I will now demonstrate for you how to brush a dog's teeth
there's several types of toothbrushes available
You can utilize one made for pets
small mouths and larger mouths
or you can use a child's toothbrush with soft bristles
You definitely want to use a toothpaste designed specifically for pets
Human toothpaste can cause stomach upsets if they're ingested
This is designed specifically for pets
It also has a nice poultry flavor or you can have malt
Cowboy much prefers the poultry flavor
You want to put a small amount on the toothbrush
about as much as you use for yourself
Then you're going to gently lift the gum
When you're brushing teeth you primarily need just to get the outside surfaces of the teeth
They really don't get a lot of accumulation on the inside
This is something you get them slowly used to
By moving their gums around you can reach all the outer tooth surfaces
You want to make sure to reward your pet each time
So as you can see Cowboy doesn't mind getting his teeth brushed
He's one of my five dogs
All of who get their teeth brushed every day
They enjoy the flavor of the toothpaste and we make a game out of it for them
It's gotten to the point now that we're not allowed to go to bed until we brush the dogs'
teeth
Thanks for listening
Hopefully this information will better help you understand your pet
and improve their quality of life
For more information visit banfield.com and search for dental care
banfield.com can also point you to the hospital closest to you
We have over seven hundred and eighty hospitals nationwide