My dog has bad teeth, suggestions?

[Weeg]

Hello everyone, I have a 5 year old yellow Lab who's teeth have never been brushed. I never knew to brush his teeth or was informed to do so, so of course, it didn't get done. A couple months ago, I started making him his own raw dog food using recipes from Dogs Naturally. Through that site I've learned so so much about holistic pet care, and much more. Sometimes I scroll through the articles, and I happened to started reading about dental disease in dogs. It made me thing about the fact that we fed Comet cheep kibble for the first 5 years of his life and never brushed his teeth.
I pulled his gums up today to look at his teeth, and sure enough, there is lots of tartar build up, etc etc. Over all they don't look like healthy pearly whites.
I read about natural dental care, (organic rubber chews, animals chews such as antlers or organic raw hide strips) and am very partial to natural dental care like suggested in these Dogs Naturally articles. (Article 1, 3rd paragraph and down. Article 2.)
Will frequent brushing, a raw diet, and some of the suggested things in those articles bring his teeth up to par? Of course, the articles also talked about getting a vet involved. Doing a cleaning under anesthesia. If I had to take that road I would definitely keep up on cleaning his teeth from here on out to avoid this conversation in the future.
Thanks for your suggestions, I hope I can fit this at home without getting a vet involved, but I'm interested to see what you think.
Photos coming in next post.

 

[topochico225]

Hello everyone, I have a 5 year old yellow Lab who's teeth have never been brushed. I never knew to brush his teeth or was informed to do so, so of course, it didn't get done. A couple months ago, I started making him his own raw dog food using recipes from Dogs Naturally. Through that site I've learned so so much about holistic pet care, and much more. Sometimes I scroll through the articles, and I happened to started reading about dental disease in dogs. It made me thing about the fact that we fed Comet cheep kibble for the first 5 years of his life and never brushed his teeth.
I pulled his gums up today to look at his teeth, and sure enough, there is lots of tartar build up, etc etc. Over all they don't look like healthy pearly whites.
I read about natural dental care, (organic rubber chews, animals chews such as antlers or organic raw hide strips) and am very partial to natural dental care like suggested in these Dogs Naturally articles. (Article 1, 3rd paragraph and down. Article 2.)
Will frequent brushing, a raw diet, and some of the suggested things in those articles bring his teeth up to par? Of course, the articles also talked about getting a vet involved. Doing a cleaning under anesthesia. If I had to take that road I would definitely keep up on cleaning his teeth from here on out to avoid this conversation in the future.
Thanks for your suggestions, I hope I can fit this at home without getting a vet involved, but I'm interested to see what you think.
Photos coming in next post.

Hey Weeg!

I have a 15yo Schnoodle that had some HORRIBLE breath. My dad tried to brush his teeth, and the brush came out bloody. Poor bud turned out to have cracked all of his molars on Greenies-- like oozing pulp, really painful, really bad as well as tartar buildup. He had to be put under general anesthesia to have them removed. Recovery involved (I am not joking) dog opioids that left him totally zonked for a week and a half. He now eats wet food and only the occasional soft treat.

I'd avoid hard treats like rawhide and antlers, and brush frequently. Maybe see a vet for a cleaning if his teeth are REALLY bad.

I know @chickentrains knows a lot about dogs. Maybe they can help!

 

[Weeg]

Hey Weeg!

I have a 15yo Schnoodle that had some HORRIBLE breath. My dad tried to brush his teeth, and the brush came out bloody. Poor bud turned out to have cracked all of his molars on Greenies-- like oozing pulp, really painful, really bad as well as tartar buildup. He had to be put under general anesthesia to have them removed. Recovery involved (I am not joking) dog opioids that left him totally zonked for a week and a half. He now eats wet food and only the occasional soft treat.

I'd avoid hard treats like rawhide and antlers, and brush frequently. Maybe see a vet for a cleaning if his teeth are REALLY bad.

I know @chickentrains knows a lot about dogs. Maybe they can help!

Wow! Thats rough!
I wouldn't consider them really bad, but I'm no expert haha, but they just seem not great. I'll post some photos her in a moment.

 

[Weeg]

They’re not terrible, just not great. Couldn’t get a hood photo of the far back teeth, but they look about the same.

 

[cassie]

The simple answer is that you need to take him to the vet to get his teeth cleaned. Do-it-yourself treatments are not going to work. I have two dogs. One I have to take in once a year or so to get his teeth cleaned and the other one never has any tarter build up.

 

[Weeg]

The simple answer is that you need to take him to the vet to get his teeth cleaned. Do-it-yourself treatments are not going to work. I have two dogs. One I have to take in once a year or so to get his teeth cleaned and the other one never has any tarter build up.

Good to know. Thank you. I'm interested to see if I get any other suggestions.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have the vet take a look and if they recommend cleaning at this time, I'd do that. Doesn't look bad at a glance but I'm not going to pretend I know canine dentistry. After a professional cleaning you can start introducing teeth brushing to his routine and that will help extend out the need for any future cleaning.

 

[springvalley123]

You need to teach the dog to get his teeth brushed. What I used to do, was 1) put toothpaste on my finger and offer it as a treat. 2) "brush" a few front teeth with the finger with toothpaste. 3) let them lick a toothbrush with toothpaste on it. 4) gradually start brushing the teeth. I always emphasized the outer surfaces of the back molars and premolars.

The only VOHC (veterinary oral health council) approved brush, was a human toothbrush, so I switched to a baby toothbrush.

I found, only use a toothpaste that has multiple enzymes in it. They don't turn back the clock but will double the amount of time between dentals in my experience (dozen or so personal and rescue dogs of medium size).

 

[Weeg]

Have the vet take a look and if they recommend cleaning at this time, I'd do that. Doesn't look bad at a glance but I'm not going to pretend I know canine dentistry. After a professional cleaning you can start introducing teeth brushing to his routine and that will help extend out the need for any future cleaning.

Ya, same here. They look alright and not terrible, but theres likely more to it then what's on the surface.

 

[Weeg]

You need to teach the dog to get his teeth brushed. What I used to do, was 1) put toothpaste on my finger and offer it as a treat. 2) "brush" a few front teeth with the finger with toothpaste. 3) let them lick a toothbrush with toothpaste on it. 4) gradually start brushing the teeth. I always emphasized the outer surfaces of the back molars and premolars.

The only VOHC (veterinary oral health council) approved brush, was a human toothbrush, so I switched to a baby toothbrush.

I found, only use a toothpaste that has multiple enzymes in it. They don't turn back the clock but will double the amount of time between dentals in my experience (dozen or so personal and rescue dogs of medium size).

I'm definitely going to teach him, and start teaching out new pup as well. That'll be fun lol!