Banfield Pet Hospital

Yes! Home dental care is one of the best ways to help keep your pet's teeth and gums healthy.

Yes! Home dental care is one of the best ways to help keep your pet's teeth and gums healthy. Start as early as possible in your canine friend's life so he or she will become accustomed to having the mouth handled.

Just as important as providing your pet with food, water and regular physical exams is an annual, professional dental cleaning. Even with good regular at-home care, plaque and tartar build up, making professional cleanings essential. Untreated dental disease can cause significant discomfort and pain as well as permanent loss of teeth and gum tissue. Remember, your pet cannot tell you when he or she is in pain. Pets rely on their owners to take care of them and recognize when something is out of the ordinary.

Dental tartar is composed of various mineral salts, organic material, bacteria, serum, and food particles. In the early stages of accumulation, the material is soft, but as time passes, it becomes hard and adheres to the teeth. Tartar builds up under the gum line as well as below it. Tartar is visible as a yellow to brown material on the tooth surface, usually near the gum, or gingival line.

Canine periodontitis is a bacterial infection of the mouth. There are four stages of periodontal disease, progressing from plaque and mildly inflamed gums to established gingivitis (gum disease), and then on to mild and ultimately severe periodontitis, which may involve bone and/or tooth loss

We visit our dentist for a professional cleaning at least twice yearly in order to reduce our risk for dental disease. Your pet also needs to receive a dental check-up and professional dental cleanings to reduce their risk for dental disease, especially since they cannot brush their teeth daily as we can. The Banfield Applied Research & Knowledge (BARK) team has found that dental disease affects at least one in five dogs and cats in the United States!

Halitosis, or bad breath, is the result of tartar build-up on the teeth, which often leaves odor-producing bacteria behind. Small particles of food can remain in your pet’s mouth, even after he has eaten, and these particles break down, creating an environment where oral bacteria flourish.

With periodontal (dental) disease, your pet can develop a build-up of plaque on and around the teeth. Not only can it cause discomfort and pain for your pet, but can result in bad breath, inflamed swollen gums, exposed tooth roots, loose or broken teeth and weight loss (due to a refusal to eat).

Dental tartar is composed of various mineral salts, organic material, bacteria, serum, and food particles. In the early stages of accumulation, the material is soft, but as time passes, it becomes hard and adheres to the teeth. Tartar builds up under the gum line as well as below it. Tartar is visible as a yellow to brown material on the tooth surface, usually near the gum, or gingival line.

We visit our dentist for a professional cleaning at least twice yearly in order to reduce our risk for dental disease. Your pet also needs to receive a dental check-up and professional dental cleanings to reduce their risk for dental disease, especially since they cannot brush their teeth daily as we can. The Banfield Applied Research & Knowledge (BARK) team has found that dental disease affects at least one in five dogs and cats in the United States!