Reasons why you should care for your pet’s teeth
INTRODUCTION:
Research shows that dental disease affects about 80 percent of dogs and cats over the age of three. Compromised oral health always presents a greater risk of toxins entering the bloodstream, causing disease. Proper, comprehensive dental care is essential not only for your pet’s oral hygiene, but also for its overall health and well-being. Maintaining good oral hygiene can prevent your pet from suffering, losing teeth and experiencing secondary health problems caused by bacterial infections, such as heart, liver and kidney problems.
We have listed some of the important reasons why your pet’s teeth need to be taken care of:
Oral care can help get rid of bad breath
We all love our beloved animal companion, but what about the strong odor they breathe in? Minimal breath odor is acceptable, but a strong oral odor is a sign of significant dental disease. Regular dental checkups and daily brushing can expel bacterial growth in your pet’s oral cavity and effectively eliminate bad breath.
Dental disease can have a significant impact
Just as in humans, the most significant oral health problem in pets is periodontal disease, also known as dental disease. It is essentially an infection of the tissues that hold your pet’s teeth together, resulting from plaque buildup on the teeth and gums due to poor brushing and flossing techniques. If not treated in time, it can cause bleeding gums, pain when chewing and often leads to tooth loss.
Regular dental checkups can help you save money
Our pets have inherited the ability to hide pain and other signs of disease. Anatomically, more than half of your pet’s tooth structure is out of sight, below the gum line, making it difficult to recognize dental disease unless a thorough examination is done. Some pet owners don’t like to spend money on preventive procedures when they don’t see any disease, not realizing that their pet may be suffering from pain and other dental disease, causing them to pay more in veterinary bills if they don’t take their pet to the dentist regularly, even if everything looks fine on the outside.
Avoiding painful situations
Pets feel the same level of pain we do when we suffer from dental disease. The concern here is that pets don’t know why they are in pain. Therefore, if you can take care of your pet’s oral health, you can prevent them from experiencing sometimes unbearable pain.
Keep serious diseases at bay
Pets are good at managing their pain and illness. You won’t realize they have a dental condition until it has spread throughout their oral cavity, causing more damage and suffering. By taking your pet in for regular oral exams, you’ll be able to catch any oral disease early on, before it becomes difficult to manage.
No tooth loss
In addition to chewing food, pets perform a variety of other activities with their teeth every day, such as carrying or picking up objects, playing, etc. If your pet does not receive regular dental care, a minor oral condition can progress to advanced periodontal disease, which can lead to tooth loss. The empty space in the oral cavity can become a permanent home for various germs causing different types of oral diseases. This could seriously interfere with your dog’s ability to eat and other activities he used to do with his teeth.
Dental disease can lead to weight loss
Your pet may be prone to jaw fractures.
If our pets do not receive regular dental care, they may develop abnormal dental conditions such as dental abscesses or periodontal disease. Such diseases gradually make our pets’ jaws very weak and fragile. Even the simplest of activities, such as eating kibble or jumping off a table, can result in a broken jaw.
Regular dental care can prevent extractions
Severe periodontal disease damages the bones that serve as the supporting structure for teeth. When the bone and gum tissues are destroyed, the diseased tooth cannot be healed, and tooth extraction is the only solution. Daily brushing of your pet’s teeth and regular visits to the dentist can prevent dental disease from reaching a stage requiring extraction.
With ongoing dental disease, your pet’s food intake may be significantly reduced, or he or she may give up food altogether because it can be extremely painful for them to chew. This quickly leads to weight loss and often leads to a weakened immune system, as the pet is not able to meet its daily nutritional needs with minimal or no food intake. A weakened immune system means that your pet is also susceptible to other diseases.
Poor dental health affects the entire body
Oral diseases not only cause adverse effects on your pet’s teeth or oral cavity, but they can also affect your pet’s overall health. After infecting your pet’s teeth and gum tissue, bacteria and other germs enter the bloodstream and travel throughout the body, causing damage to key organs such as the liver, heart and kidneys.
Conclusion
Ultimately, maintaining good oral hygiene and having regular oral exams are the keys to preventing your pet from developing a serious illness. Talk to your veterinarian and develop a treatment plan to minimize the possibility of any oral disease and give your pet a quality life for as long as possible.