Brushing teeths

[Snowball]

Okay. So I am contemplating on whether or not I should brush Pebbles teeth every day instead of once a week. He currently eats one can a day and a little bit of dry, but I just want some more insight on why we have to brush our pet's teeth once a week and not daily like us. Pebbles breath gets really funky sometimes, like it smells like his wet food. Any advice?

 

[Snowball]

I'm going to bump this post up.

 

[Cleopatra Beers]

Cleo "brushes" her teeth at least 3 times a week and at most once a day. The quotes are there because she eats the toothpaste and refuses to let me brush her teeth. Her vets say that does work and she has great teeth and breath. We use Drs. Foster and Smith toothpaste for cats and dogs. It's really cute; she gets on my shoulder while I brush my teeth at night and then I put her toothpaste on her toothbrush and she takes it off the brush while she balances on my shoulder ( I have the scars to prove that her balance isn't that great). The vets told me that brushing or eating toothpaste once a day is great.

 

[Snowball]

Cleo "brushes" her teeth at least 3 times a week and at most once a day. The quotes are there because she eats the toothpaste and refuses to let me brush her teeth. Her vets say that does work and she has great teeth and breath. We use Drs. Foster and Smith toothpaste for cats and dogs. It's really cute; she gets on my shoulder while I brush my teeth at night and then I put her toothpaste on her toothbrush and she takes it off the brush while she balances on my shoulder ( I have the scars to prove that her balance isn't that great). The vets told me that brushing or eating toothpaste once a day is great.

I have two pastes I use. One is the chicken flavored and the other one actually smells minty without that stuff that can kill cats. The xeno thing. Well Pebbles actually eats the chicken paste but hates the minty one which I think makes his breath smell good. He refuses to let me brush his teeth but I still try to do it anyways. He lets me open his mouth when I don't have his toothbrush near me and oh, I bought the really small toothbrush.

 

[Cleopatra Beers]

I have the small brush too, but I remember a post on this site several months ago where someone (sorry, I can't remember who) uses baby toothbrushes. I am going to try that. I don't think Cleo will go for it, but I'll try it anyway.

 

[Snowball]

I have the small brush too, but I remember a post on this site several months ago where someone (sorry, I can't remember who) uses baby toothbrushes. I am going to try that. I don't think Cleo will go for it, but I'll try it anyway.

I am not going to lied. I use both baby toothbrush and kids toothbrush on myself. It was recommended by my dentist because apparently, my teeths are really tiny (short) and it is hard to reach the wisdom teeths in my mouth with the adult toothbrush. I might check out the baby toothbrush. I totally forgot they have one for babies! Thank you!

 

[Inflamed]

We use a brush for babies/toddlers too! Samael sort of lets us brush his teeth but he mostly just licks the chicken flavoured paste of the brush too. We don't do it enough though, but he just got his adult teeth and they're so nice & white! Btw there's nothing wrong with doing it every day, the more the better, but most people can't be bothered to so vets recommend once a week to get people to do it (or that's what I think anyway).

 

[Nofuratu]

If you have the time to do it once a day instead of once a week that is definetely better. Cats and Dogs DO need daily brushing, but a lot of owners only have time for weekly...go for daily if possible!

 

[Snowball]

We use a brush for babies/toddlers too! Samael sort of lets us brush his teeth but he mostly just licks the chicken flavoured paste of the brush too. We don't do it enough though, but he just got his adult teeth and they're so nice & white! Btw there's nothing wrong with doing it every day, the more the better, but most people can't be bothered to so vets recommend once a week to get people to do it (or that's what I think anyway).

Okay. That is good to hear. I would love to do it everyday, even if I don't have the time for it. (I feel I don't have time but I have plenty of time to sit here and comment on other people's post! ) Okay I do have time to do things but it always feels like I don't have time because I have so much things to do and so little time.

Pebbles got his adult teeth 2 months ago and I'm trying to keep it pristine white and get him into the habit of getting his teeth brush. He has smelly breath because of those can food he loves to eat. I don't feed him a lot of can, just one can a day and a shot glass full of dry food in the afternoon. Prior to the 4 months, he's never had his teeth brush like that so he hates it. I just wanted to know if it's bad to brush their teeths daily even if I don't have time. Some vets says no, just once a week but they don't really tell you why. Good to know others tries to brush their babies teeth everyday. I just don't want to be the odd ball out because if anything happens, I have you guys to help me out.

 

[Snowball]

If you have the time to do it once a day instead of once a week that is definetely better. Cats and Dogs DO need daily brushing, but a lot of owners only have time for weekly...go for daily if possible!

Thank you so much! I will do it daily. I think a lot of owners don't have that weekly time either. It just makes them feel better if they were told to do it once a week or twice a week, so they don't feel bad for neglecting their babies teeth.

 

[Taraforweb]

I know there are dog treats to help with teeth cleaning... are there cat treats that do the same that anyone likes?

 

[Snowball]

I know there are dog treats to help with teeth cleaning... are there cat treats that do the same that anyone likes?

I think I've seen something for cats in Petsmart, but then I'll have to check again just to make sure. Umm...I've read up and spoken to a couple of Vet's that it's not really that great using those dog treats that cleans the teeth. It doesn't really clean the teeth that well. It "supposely" does, but I've never seen any improvements with my dogs. I do stick with just brushing their teeths once a week. They hate it though, just like Pebbles.

So far, Pebbles teeth looks really clean. I just brush the surface and for his inner teeths, I let him bite on the toothbrush. I don't know if that actually helps clean his teeth because it's really hard to open his mouth cause he keeps twisting his head this way and that and he keeps using his tongue to get my finger out, so I just let him bite on it. I tried to stretch his lips back but it's so hard! I don't know how Vets do it though. They are such pros at pulling the lips back to see the back teeth.

 

[Zeke8888]

I tried getting some dental treats for my cats -bu even my alley cat was not having it! Definitely brush those teeth-you don't want your babies to end up "toofless" like my poor Siamese almost is because I listened to a vet that wasn't all cats -my fault big time, seriously!

 

[Snowball]

I tried getting some dental treats for my cats -bu even my alley cat was not having it! Definitely brush those teeth-you don't want your babies to end up "toofless" like my poor Siamese almost is because I listened to a vet that wasn't all cats -my fault big time, seriously!

So I finally came back from the Vet and I asked her if I could brush Pebbles teeth everyday and she recommended it! She said the more the better. Pebbles apparantly has some tar looking stuff in his back teeth. Those are really hard to get into. I don't know how the Vet can peel their lips back but I'm having a hard time doing it.

 

[jussiolavi]

Is teeth brushing mandatory? Fiona has very good teeth and her breath doesn't smell or anything. Do I still need to brush them? A sales clerk at a local pet store (she is the manager and knows a lot about cats) said that because she eats dry food that she chews (it's Applaws so the kibbles are pit bigger and need to be chewed) no teeth brushing needed.

 

[Snowball]

Is teeth brushing mandatory? Fiona has very good teeth and her breath doesn't smell or anything. Do I still need to brush them? A sales clerk at a local pet store (she is the manager and knows a lot about cats) said that because she eats dry food that she chews (it's Applaws so the kibbles are pit bigger and need to be chewed) no teeth brushing needed.

What your sales clerk said is not true. You still need to brush their teeth because all those dry food Fiona eats will eventually build up and become worse. If that was the case, my dogs would have nice looking teeth but they don't because it build up to the point where I had to take them in for a dental cleaning. Pebbles is only 9 months at the moment and I start to notice some brown/black stuff in his back teeth. He eats both wet and dry and if what your sales clerk said was true, then shouldn't the dry food help clean out the gunk from the wet food? I wish it worked that way so it saves me the trouble of having to brush his teeth.

I noticed Fiona is almost 2 years old and her teeth still looks good but looks can be deceiving. My vet was able to spot the tiny line of brown/black stuff in his back teeth that I couldn't see clearly when I try to peel his lips back. (She's a pro at peeling their lips back) She said to watch those back teeth and try to get the brush in there to brush it because those things can build up and turn worst. Pebbles' front teeth looks pearly white and so are his back ones, but his back ones are much more harder to see so to me, they looked white and clean. If it wasn't for the vet, I wouldn't have spotted those gunk in his back teeth. It's really small, like a line that's below his gum so it was hard to see.

Also cats do not really chew. It might sound like they're chewing but they're really just swallowing them. Their back teeth might crunch down on the ones that are together but they're just swallowing them. This is why majority of the kibbles are small so it's easier for them to swallow. The kibbles are easily digested in their stomach so there's no real need to chew. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention one thing. I never got into the habit of brushing my dogs teeth until they turned 5, when the buildup from the dry food got really bad. I had to do dental cleaning on both of them and the vet told me they need a brush at least once a week since I don't have time to do it daily, but now with Pebbles, since I got him as a kitten and he's still a kitten, I am being really religious with him because I don't want him to end up like my dogs, with really bad teeth bcause I never brushed them.

Sorry for the long post and I hope it helps. I don't want you to have to waste hundreds and hundreds of dollars for a dental cleaning. Both my dogs came up to a total of $1,150 for their dental cleaning. They needed this injection to make them sleep, that infection to fight off bacteria and a whole bunch of stupid stuff. I know my husbands' god-mother has been really religious with the dental cleaning for her dog and her dog has never had plague or any of that stuff on her teeth. Her dog is currently 9 years old and she's never had a dental cleaning. I want Pebbles to be exactly like that dog, with no dental problem.

 

[catlover]

ttp://www.pissedconsumer.com/consumer-reviews/animal-feed.html

I have never brushed my cat's teeth)) I try to feed it with food that cleans teeth so Clyde never has any problems with teeth. I've read many, and found out it wasn't healthy.. By the way, how do feed your cat?

 

[Snowball]

Re: ttp://www.pissedconsumer.com/consumer-reviews/animal-feed.html

I have never brushed my cat's teeth)) I try to feed it with food that cleans teeth so Clyde never has any problems with teeth. I've read many, and found out it wasn't healthy.. By the way, how do feed your cat?

I would love to read your sources on why it's not healthy to brush their teeths. Did you type in on the search bar, "Why do animals need their teeths to be clean?" or "Should animals get their teeths cleaned?" Also feeding food that helps keep an animal's teeth clean doesn't clean the outside of the teeth well. It doesn't get closer to the gum line where bacteria could grow and continued to infect the gum. Those food just scrapes the surface part but doesn't really target a specific area well. I know in the wild, it's not neccessary to have their teeths brushed, but those felines in the wild has really bad teeth, just not as bad as ours because they're not eating commerically made food that has loads of chemical in it.

When you asked, "...how do you feed your cat?" What do you mean by that? Do you mean how much I feed my kitty or what I feed my kitty? How do I feed my cat sounds more like do I leave a bowl of food out there for it to eat, or do I baby feed it like I would to a baby, by holding it in my arms and feeding food down it's throat? I'm sorry but that question can be looked at in different ways. I don't want to give an answer if it's not what you're asking because that's how misunderstanding occurs. Thanks for understanding.

Edit: So I checked out the link you have above on Pissed Consumer and there was nothing on why it's bad to clean teeth. I will research further about teeth cleaning and get back to you. If you found sources on why it's bad cleaning a pet's teeth, then maybe I can too.

Edit: Okay, so I googled and yahoo different ways to ask why teeth cleaning for animals are bad and it all comes up as why we SHOULD clean our pet's teeth and we should be brushing them. Buying the treats or food that has cleaning properties in it does help a bit but not as well as actually using a brush and cleaning off the gunk that's close to the gum line. I think why you said it's unhealthy to brush an animals teeth all the time is because of the bleeding of the gum. Some people do not know how to properly brush an animals' teeth and will use a little more force than neccessary, thus making the gum bleed. This can cause bacteria from the teeth itself to go into the gum and make it worst. This is my reason on why teeths shouldn't be brush so often but it also goes both ways for humans. We do make our own gums bleed but routine care can prevent our gums from bleeding easily.

 

[Nofuratu]

Okay. That is good to hear. I would love to do it everyday, even if I don't have the time for it. (I feel I don't have time but I have plenty of time to sit here and comment on other people's post! ) Okay I do have time to do things but it always feels like I don't have time because I have so much things to do and so little time.

Pebbles got his adult teeth 2 months ago and I'm trying to keep it pristine white and get him into the habit of getting his teeth brush. He has smelly breath because of those can food he loves to eat. I don't feed him a lot of can, just one can a day and a shot glass full of dry food in the afternoon. Prior to the 4 months, he's never had his teeth brush like that so he hates it. I just wanted to know if it's bad to brush their teeths daily even if I don't have time. Some vets says no, just once a week but they don't really tell you why. Good to know others tries to brush their babies teeth everyday. I just don't want to be the odd ball out because if anything happens, I have you guys to help me out.

the reason WHY daily is reccomended is because it takes 24 hours for plaque to form. Plaque then forms into tartar and the only way to remove tartar is with a dental cleaning or some oral cleansing gels or dental treats can chip away at it a bit.

So the idea is to brush the teeth before plaque forms, and then turns to tartar.
Hope that explanation helped a bit!

 

[Nofuratu]

Is teeth brushing mandatory? Fiona has very good teeth and her breath doesn't smell or anything. Do I still need to brush them? A sales clerk at a local pet store (she is the manager and knows a lot about cats) said that because she eats dry food that she chews (it's Applaws so the kibbles are pit bigger and need to be chewed) no teeth brushing needed.

What your pet store rep told you is wrong...unfortunately.
Studies in veterinary dental health tell us that there is NO evidence that feeding dry food cleans the teeth, and it definetely does not eliminate the need for brushing.

The way i usually explain this to people is to compare it to eating cookies for humans. If you eat hard cookies all day, you must still brush your teeth to prevent plaque and then tartar from building up right?
Eating cookies all day instead of pudding does not eliminate the need for humans to brush their teeth, even if they are eating sugar free cookies/pudding.

the only way to clean pet teeth is to brush them or wipe them with a cloth, or use an oral cleansing gel which is not as good as brushing but better than doing nothing....OR to feed raw food with bones, ligaments, tendons etc that scrub and floss the teeth. Although if you feed raw you should still brush the teeth too.

 

[Nofuratu]

Re: ttp://www.pissedconsumer.com/consumer-reviews/animal-feed.html

I would love to read your sources on why it's not healthy to brush their teeths. Did you type in on the search bar, "Why do animals need their teeths to be clean?" or "Should animals get their teeths cleaned?" Also feeding food that helps keep an animal's teeth clean doesn't clean the outside of the teeth well. It doesn't get closer to the gum line where bacteria could grow and continued to infect the gum. Those food just scrapes the surface part but doesn't really target a specific area well. I know in the wild, it's not neccessary to have their teeths brushed, but those felines in the wild has really bad teeth, just not as bad as ours because they're not eating commerically made food that has loads of chemical in it.

When you asked, "...how do you feed your cat?" What do you mean by that? Do you mean how much I feed my kitty or what I feed my kitty? How do I feed my cat sounds more like do I leave a bowl of food out there for it to eat, or do I baby feed it like I would to a baby, by holding it in my arms and feeding food down it's throat? I'm sorry but that question can be looked at in different ways. I don't want to give an answer if it's not what you're asking because that's how misunderstanding occurs. Thanks for understanding.

Edit: So I checked out the link you have above on Pissed Consumer and there was nothing on why it's bad to clean teeth. I will research further about teeth cleaning and get back to you. If you found sources on why it's bad cleaning a pet's teeth, then maybe I can too.

Edit: Okay, so I googled and yahoo different ways to ask why teeth cleaning for animals are bad and it all comes up as why we SHOULD clean our pet's teeth and we should be brushing them. Buying the treats or food that has cleaning properties in it does help a bit but not as well as actually using a brush and cleaning off the gunk that's close to the gum line. I think why you said it's unhealthy to brush an animals teeth all the time is because of the bleeding of the gum. Some people do not know how to properly brush an animals' teeth and will use a little more force than neccessary, thus making the gum bleed. This can cause bacteria from the teeth itself to go into the gum and make it worst. This is my reason on why teeths shouldn't be brush so often but it also goes both ways for humans. We do make our own gums bleed but routine care can prevent our gums from bleeding easily.

You are absolutely right that teeth brushing IS neccesary for domesticated cats and dogs to live long happy lives.
The two biggest killers for domesticated cats and dogs are poor diet, and poor dental care. The reason poor dental care is a huge problem and causes a shorter lifespan is because mouth infections left untreated break off and spread to major organs like the heart, liver, kidneys etc. Many cats/dogs are left with horrible mouths for years and it leads to other complications.

 

[Snowball]

What your pet store rep told you is wrong...unfortunately.
Studies in veterinary dental health tell us that there is NO evidence that feeding dry food cleans the teeth, and it definetely does not eliminate the need for brushing.

The way i usually explain this to people is to compare it to eating cookies for humans. If you eat hard cookies all day, you must still brush your teeth to prevent plaque and then tartar from building up right?
Eating cookies all day instead of pudding does not eliminate the need for humans to brush their teeth, even if they are eating sugar free cookies/pudding.

the only way to clean pet teeth is to brush them or wipe them with a cloth, or use an oral cleansing gel which is not as good as brushing but better than doing nothing....OR to feed raw food with bones, ligaments, tendons etc that scrub and floss the teeth. Although if you feed raw you should still brush the teeth too.

I can't say it any better than you. I came back yesterday from bringing Pebbles to the vet and she finally spend a little more time with me to answer my questions. This is my third time going to her since I moved to Virginia and I am going to have to re-evaluate her because I had a bad experience with her. I asked her if it was okay to brush Pebbles teeth daily and she said yes, the more the better. I also asked her what kind of diet she would recommend because she previously said Pebbles was fat and needed to be fed one can a day. She said Pebbles is her first Sphynx so she really doesn't know. The first time I went to her was to get Pebbles neutered. The second time was because Pebbles' baby teeth started to fall off and I panicked because I've never seen that happen to the puppies I had, so it was my first experience with it. On the second visit, the Vet said Pebbles is a little fat because she weighted him at 7lbs and he was 7 months at the time. This time I went back to her because Pebbles has the runny poo and she still said he's still a little fat, even though he looks really lean with a Spay Sway pouch. He's 9 months and is 10.3lbs. She seems really nice, not like the first two times I met her but she did say that it is good that I'm brushing Pebbles teeth daily. She mentioned that the back of his teeth is starting to plagued up a bit at the gum line and I agreed. I couldn't see the back teeth clearly so I was brushing it randomly but now I found a way to peel back Pebbles lips for better access on brushing it. I've always wondered how the Vets are able to peel the lips back to see the back teeth and now I can do it myself, so today, I finally brushed the buildup of plague.

 

[ShamMeow]

Okay. That is good to hear. I would love to do it everyday, even if I don't have the time for it. (I feel I don't have time but I have plenty of time to sit here and comment on other people's post! ) Okay I do have time to do things but it always feels like I don't have time because I have so much things to do and so little time.

Pebbles got his adult teeth 2 months ago and I'm trying to keep it pristine white and get him into the habit of getting his teeth brush. He has smelly breath because of those can food he loves to eat. I don't feed him a lot of can, just one can a day and a shot glass full of dry food in the afternoon. Prior to the 4 months, he's never had his teeth brush like that so he hates it. I just wanted to know if it's bad to brush their teeths daily even if I don't have time. Some vets says no, just once a week but they don't really tell you why. Good to know others tries to brush their babies teeth everyday. I just don't want to be the odd ball out because if anything happens, I have you guys to help me out.

I found this thread searching for types of toothbrushes, but I just wanted to say, I am really glad I am not the only one who uses a shotglass to measure out my baby's dry food The husband always looks at me funny when I'm mixing him up a bowl.