C.E.T. Chews

Hextra Chews

Drinking water additives

Chew Toys

Rawhide Chews

Pig Ears

Greenies

Dog biscuits

Bones

 

Bad breath and gum disease

 CET chews, Hextra chews, Aquadent, rawhide chews, chew treats, chew toys, Greenies, dog biscuits, bones, and pig ears

Chewing promotes naturally healthy teeth:

Wild animals don’t get gum disease.  I’ve examined many feral cats and the occasional feral dog.  Many were skinny and loaded with parasites, but they all had beautiful teeth.  Eating mice and gophers promotes dental health because it involves a lot of chewing, and the food being chewed hangs together well enough to clean the entire tooth.  Whatever we can to do mimic this natural form of tooth cleaning is helpful.  

First,  pick a dry dog food intended to promote dental health:

Hill’s makes two dental diets.  One is Science Diet Oral Care, marketed through pet stores. The other, Prescription Diet TD, is sold by veterinarians.  The large biscuit-like chunks of Oral Care and TD have a fibrous matrix that holds the food together while it’s being chewed, which mimics the cleaning action of a natural diet. Although the products are similar,  TD  chunks are larger, making them a little more effective. Oral Care and t/d are good tasting, relatively low in calories, and all things considered, probably the best choices for most adult dogs. 

All Iam’s and Eukanuba  adult dog and cat foods contain an additive that increases the friction of chewing, which results in about forty percent less tartar formation.  These are also good choices.

CET chews

CET chews are tough rawhide chews that have been treated with enzymes to help stop plaque formation, making them more effective than regular chews.

Hextra chews (best chew treat for most dogs)

Hextra chews are a newer product from the company that makes CET chews. Instead of blocking tartar formation with enzymes, which is very helpful, Hextra controls mouth bacteria (and bad breath) with chlorhexidine, an antibacterial.  This is a more effective way to block tartar formation.  Hextra chews provide the most benefit per calorie and are probably the best choice for chubby dogs. 

Greenies

The original Greenies were hard and solid.  It took a lot of chewing to eat one and they did a great job keeping the teeth clean.  Unfortunately, as I understand it, a few dogs managed to choke down chunks too large to pass through the intestine.  In the fall of 2006 the manufacturer released a new formulation which is softer and dissolves in the stomach.  This new digestible version is safer, but not as effective. 

This is not to say the new Greenies aren’t useful.  They reduce plaque and tartar accumulation and improve mouth odor.  The  problem with any tasty dog biscuit is that when they are added to a diet that is already adequate, dogs gain weight.  We recommend Greenies. Greenies are good for the teeth but unless your dog is naturally thin, you shouldn’t use them without reducing the amount of other food. 

Drinking water additives (highly recommended)

Aquadent is a drinking water additive that controls plaque and tartar formation by reducing the bacterial population in your pet’s mouth. Plaque, that soft gooey stuff that forms on teeth, is mostly bacteria. It’s bacterial action that turns plaque into tartar and tartar that wedges itself up under your pet’s gums and makes the teeth fall out.

Aquadent also helps prevent tooth decay, an important concern in many cats. In a recent feline study Aquadent reduced plaque and tartar formation by more than 50%. That’s huge, especially for a product so easy to use.

Another study, this one in dogs, showed equally remarkable results.

“In studies involving a total of 28 mixed breed dogs, all cases showed marked reduction in the bleeding index, gingival health showed remarkable improvement, and halitosis was significantly reduced.” Peter Emily, DDS, AVDC

More Aquadent information

Chew toys

In theory, chew toys like Nylabones and Nylafloss are excellent choices. For dogs that accept them, they provide hours of entertainment. They are durable, low cost and entirely safe. If chewed on sufficiently, they do a fine job of cleaning the teeth. Their only shortcoming is that after puppyhood, most dogs aren't interested in chew toys.

Rawhide chews

Dogs like rawhide. It rarely causes any problem and if your dog will chew on one for a while before choking the thing down, it will do some good. Unfortunately, most dogs eat them like treats and that's basically what most rawhide chews are - greasy treats that make your dog fat without any real benefit.

Pig ears

Essentially big rawhide treats.  They provide a lot of chewing exercise and although it seems that swallowing one whole would cause problems, I can't say that I've ever seen this happen.  

Dog biscuits

Dog Biscuits aren't necessarily bad. If you choose a biscuit large enough that your dog has to chew at it with the sides of his mouth, it will provide useful cleaning action. If you also realize that these big biscuits supply a lot of calories and reduce other foods accordingly, dog biscuits can be a good thing. Hardly anybody does this. Dog biscuits are sweet - think of them as dog candy. Owners usually feed small biscuits as a treat in addition to an already adequate diet, which makes dogs fat while providing very little benefit for the teeth.

Bones

I'm going to cautiously disagree with prevailing veterinary wisdom: Bones are not necessarily a bad thing.

Concerns and precautions:

  • If your dogs eats a lot of bone compared to his size, particularly cooked bone and especially if he is an old dog, he can develop a horrible case of constipation. 

  • Bones that splinter or bones that can be swallowed whole sometimes don't make it all the way through the dog. They may jam in the teeth, punch holes in the intestine, or simply go in and not come out. 

  • Chewing on big old dry bones causes fractured teeth.

  • Spoiled or contaminated bones cause food poisoning in dogs the same as they would for people.

After those caveats and accepting no responsibility for any unfortunate outcome, I will say that I've seen owners maintain beautiful dental health by adding raw chicken necks or chicken backs to their dog's diet. I'd be cautious about feeding them to little dogs, but medium sized dogs do fine with chicken necks; big dogs with chicken backs (just the rear part, not the rib area). These are the only parts of the chicken I'm suggesting.  

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