How to brush your dog's teeth

Did you know that most dogs over three have gum disease requiring treatment? Fortunately cleaning your dog’s teeth can help to keep gum disease such as gingivitis at bay. Here are some useful tips on how to brush your dog’s teeth.

Tartar, tooth loss and other dental diseases can often be prevented by regular tooth brushing. Daily tooth brushing can detect disease in the dog's mouth at an early stage, as dogs rarely clearly show you that they’re in pain from the oral cavity.

Did you know? Agria’s peace-of-mind dog insurance includes dental treatment.

In brief: How to brush your dog's teeth

We’ll go through the steps in more detail below.

Why should I brush my dog’s teeth?

Did you know that dogs over three years old have a significant chance of already having dental disease?

This is really bad news, as the impact can be extremely tough for our dogs to cope with. Poor dental health and gum disease are so common that the British Veterinary Dental Association states that most dogs over three have gum disease requiring treatment. According to The Royal Veterinary College, periodontal disease affects over 90% of adult dogs.

However, the great news is that by taking good care of your dog’s teeth, you can drastically reduce their chances of suffering the pain and problems connected with dental and gum disease. And should they need any treatment, Agria Pet Insurance is there to help.

Robin Hargreaves, Senior Veterinary Adviser at Agria Pet Insurance, explains: “Our dogs should be with us into their teens. But the animals they evolved from didn’t live anything like to this age – and so their teeth are not designed for longevity. Left uncared for, the likelihood is that they will deteriorate, giving your dog gum disease and mouth and gum pain.

“But it doesn’t have to be this way.

“Encourage your dog to chew on something appropriate to use their teeth. Nothing too hard to break their teeth, and nothing that will break or splinter and get stuck in their mouth or digestive tract. Those on a soft diet can really benefit from something that involves properly using their teeth to help keep the surfaces clean.

“Also, something very important owners can do is to get into the habit of cleaning their dog’s teeth.”

When should I start brushing my dog's teeth?

Get your dog accustomed to having their teeth brushed early, preferably already as a puppy. It takes time to get a dog used to tooth brushing. 

When teaching your dog to brush their teeth, you can start by lifting the dog's lip and gently rubbing the outside of the upper jaw's teeth with your fingertip, or alternatively with a microfibre cloth wrapped around your finger. Do this daily until your dog accepts this. Only then do you introduce the toothbrush.

Start by dabbing your dog's teeth with the brush, then brush for a few seconds and gradually increase the time you brush their teeth.

Remember to give your dog plenty of praise and reward the dog for making the brushing a positive experience.

Brush with small movements

The outsides of the teeth are brushed with small rubbing movements. You should be especially careful with the gum line where tartar formation starts. (We’ll go into what tartar actually is in a moment.) 

To brush the insides, you have to open your dog's mouth. It may be difficult to get your dog to agree. Be careful, take it step by step, and give your dog time to get used to it.

Toothpaste for dogs

If you want toothpaste, you should use a special toothpaste intended for dogs. It can be a good way to make it more pleasurable because it tastes good. There is, among other things, toothpaste with a liver flavour that many dogs like.

Never brush your dog's teeth with toothpaste intended for humans. Cavities are very rare in dogs so fluoride is not needed.

How to prevent tartar in dogs

The best way to avoid tartar is to regularly brush your dog's teeth. The teeth should preferably be brushed daily because plaque starts to form again immediately after brushing. Tooth brushing can also remove lighter tartar that has started to form.

What is tartar anyway?

When bacterial deposits – plaque – are mineralised, a hard dental coating called tartar is formed. The tendency to tartar varies between different individuals and different breeds. And tartar forms more easily in certain areas of the oral cavity.

Tartar above the gum line

Calculus that forms above the gum line is called supragingival calculus, or salivary calculus. Such tartar can form in 2-3 days. Newly formed salivary calculus has a light whitish colour and chalk-like texture and can be seen as a coating along the gum line. It rapidly increases and can sometimes cover the entire tooth surfaces.

Tartar in gum pockets

Tartar that forms under the gum line in gum pockets is called subgingival tartar, or serum tartar. It’s dark due to stored blood pigments and often has a hard texture. Tartar occurs as small islands or in more continuous bands in the gum pockets.

Tartar that forms under the gum line is more difficult to remove: partly because it’s difficult to access, partly because it adheres very tightly to the tooth surface. This type of calculus is discovered when the animal is sedated and the veterinarian examines the gums with a probe.

What’s the best way to deal with tartar?

You can remove lighter tartar yourself by regular brushing. If your dog has suffered from stronger calculus, it needs to be removed at the vet, usually then the dog needs to be sedated.

During a thorough dental examination under anaesthesia to check for symptoms of disease in the dog's mouth, the veterinarian removes tartar and checks for dental pockets. These are measured and cleaned. Teeth are usually x-rayed because most of a tooth is located below the gum line.

Find out more about dental treatment covered by Agria Pet Insurance.