Dental health in Dogs

Eight out of ten dogs over three years of age are suffering from poor dental health, but only two out of ten owners think that dental health is a issue for dogs. This is in spite of the fact that we have known for almost 40 years that dogs that doesn't get their teeth brushed are likely to develop periodontal disease. It was an experiment with beagles in the 70s that showed that when the teeth of beagles were brushed every day, their teeth and gums stayed healthy, while the dogs that didn't get their teeth brushed started developing periodontal disease before they were even 1 year old. (Lindhe et al, 1975) Already a decade before this it was shown that periodontal disease develops five times faster in dogs than in humans. (Gad, 1968)

Healthy teeth and gums on a dog looks like this. The gum is supposed to be pink and the teeth white.

So what is periodontal disease? Periodontal disease causes the gum around the teeth to loosen its grip around the tooth, creating pockets around the tooth and leading in the end to the tooth falling out. This is very painful since the root of the tooth becomes unprotected and since this part of the tooth is very sensitive, eating, chewing and drinking can become very painful. The gum is also very inflamed at this point, which is also very painful. This inflammation of the gum and the opening to the roots of the teeth is also an open gate for bacteria which can enter the blood stream and cause disease around the body, notably the heart, liver and kidneys. (DeBowes, 1996) Periodontal disease in dogs is caused, for the major part, by bacterial growth, plaque and calculus (tartar) build-up on the teeth, but there appears to be some hereditary factors involved as well since some breeds are more prone to develop periodontal disease than others.

Add captionA dog with serious calculus build-up and periodontal disease. Yes, this is extreme, but I've actually seen worse.

Periodontal disease is reversible to some extent, but when the disease has reached a state where the pocket around the tooth has reached more than 3 mm and the tooth is no longer firmly attached to the gum, the only viable option is to pull that tooth. In doing so, and by starting to keep the dogs teeth clean, the surrounding teeth can be saved. If left unchecked, the disease is going to spread to the rest of the teeth resulting in most teeth having to be pulled or if that is not done, the dog will develop other diseases that in the end will kill it.

If your dog's teeth starts looking like the canine tooth in this picture, you should take it to the vet and have your dog's teeth cleaned.

Am I exaggerating? Where I work we've had dogs coming in to pull more than 20 teeth. We have also had dogs that have been in such bad shape, partly do to poor dental health, that they've had to be put down. Will this happen to all dogs? No, definitely not! But what I'm saying is that keeping an eye on your dog's teeth might save its life or at least improve your dogs quality of life. I must say that I really don't think there is any excuse for not keeping an eye on the teeth of our canine friends. If you are uncertain about whether or not your dog has good dental health, ask your veterinarian.  



Sources:
Gad, T. (1968). Periodontal disease in dogs, Journal of Periodontal Research, 3(4): 268-272

Lindhe, J. (1975). Plaque induced periodontal disease in beagle dogs. Journal of Periodontal Research, 10(5): 243-255

DeBowes, L. J. (1996). Association of periodontal disease and histologic lesions in multiple organs from 45 dogs, Journal of Veterinary Dentistry, 13(2): 57-60.


Pictures:
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