The Tooth Of The Matter
It shouldn’t sound surprising, but animal dental care is just as important as our own. As humans, we’re no strangers to the discomfort and pain we experience when our dental health goes unchecked. We wouldn’t want that for our fur babies, especially as they cannot exactly tell us fur parents what they feel.
Gone are the days when we thought brushing our dog’s teeth or getting them checked by a vet is impractical and unnecessary, if we even thought about it at all. Animal dental care wasn’t that much of a big deal until not too long ago.
Fortunately, our knowledge of veterinary dentistry and pet oral health has expanded and we now know that having good oral hygiene is important for our furry friends as it can lessen the smell of their breaths, improve their wellbeing and extend their lives.
It’s always a good idea to get in touch with a veterinarian and get their expert opinion (or do some mythbusting), but here are things you should look out for when it comes to animal dental care:
- Bad breath
- Pain while eating, loss of appetite
- Pain when touching the mouth
- Atypical drooling
- Obvious tartar buildup
- Worn, shattered, or discolored teeth
- Swollen jaws or other regions in the mouth
- Red or inflamed gums
- Bleeding from the mouth
- Pawing at the mouth
- Dropping of food from the mouth
- Swelling of the muzzle
These are symptoms that can lead to behavioural changes, lowered appetite, continuous bad breath, and severe disease, so it’s crucial that we don’t ignore them.
