Is 1 (or a bit after) too early for dental cleaning?

Aspen will be going to his 1 year check up soon here and I am not sure what they will say about his teeth. He has a lot of tartar (I think?) I'm not really sure if it is tartar or not, but I think it is because it is just brown staining on his teeth. I have been brushing and the brown stains have been receding, veeery slowly. I don't know if they would recommend a cleaning at such an early age, but I was wondering when your dogs went in for their first cleanings. I know some of you don't even brush your dog's teeth, which is nice for you, but I really did need to develop a tooth brushing habit/routine for Aspen or I knew we were going to have a lot of problems down the road. I also know a lot of you are not from the US, so I don't know how many of your vets do cleanings under anesthesia or if any of you bring your dogs to dentists that scale without anesthesia...I know they offer the cleaning without anesthesia but that has conflicting views, but so does cleaning with anesthesia. I just really want his teeth to be healthy but I have a late start because I didn't think his teeth would get icky so quickly. HELP!

 

I would ask your vet to have a look and give you an honest opinion. Merlin has a bit of tartar on his teeth too, despite getting lots of bones AND tooth brushing, but it's not so bad right now it that it needs special cleaning. Poppy's teeth got a bit brown too, and I have them cleaned under anaesthesia when she was spayed last year.

 

@Karen I will do that. We are switching to a new vet that our trainer goes to because the previous one just wasn’t very understanding. Here is a photo of his molars. This is the worst side. Not a great photo but still shows the buildup/staining

 

I too would ask your vet. Harley’s teeth are quite good, but have noticed some tartar build up so been brushing every week and it’s helping. I didn’t start doing hers until she was 2 years old as never had any issues before this.

 

@Naya I am hoping the tartar will clear up. At this point it is mostly aesthetic but he sometimes has stinky breath.

 

Pets are often like people in the regards of some win the genetic lottery and some don't, dental health included! Your vet will know but from what I have seen (I'm a vet tech in the US) that is a decent amount of tarter on the teeth (especially since at a year he's only had those teeth for about 6 months). I would consider a professional cleaning. Afterwards brushing daily is best. The professional cleaning will give you a clean start that brushing won't get to (though it's wonderful you're brushing!).

 

@TheresaM thank you thank you for your input! I always thought it was odd that he had more buildup than other dogs older than him. I don’t have the greatest luck with my own teeth so my sister jokes that he got it from me. I’m just hoping it isn’t something we struggle with as he gets older. But yes, I will have to continue taking extra good care of his teeth. I am just hoping we can get his teeth cleaned for a price that isn’t too costly, although I completely understand why dental cleanings are pricey!

 

Coco has a small patch of tartar on each side, just like you show in Aspen's photo. The vet commented on it last year at his annual health check (age 3) and told me to brush his teeth every day (she did say TWICE a day would be the best ) with an enzyme toothpaste. This I do, but that patch doesn't seem to be getting any smaller. It's not getting any bigger either, nor has it spread to other teeth. I have been doing it for 8 months now. Some days I forget, I have doubled up my effort lately to get a daily brush in.

 

I'd be a bit concerned about the stinky breath... at his age he should really have sweet-smelling breath. Definitely ask your new vet for a proper check of his teeth.

 

@Karen Oh, that worries me...he is scheduled for the 20th so I am hoping we will get OK news. I would do e”whatever it takes to make sure his teeth are healthy. We adopted Westies when I was younger that had awful teeth and had to get extractions. It’s just not a nice way for an animal to live.

 

@edzbird what kind of tooth paste do you use? Do you brush after morning meal and then evening meal?

 

Yes, I understand what you mean. Despite all my care, Merlin has a small hole in one of his teeth... but at least I know it is there and am very careful about keeping his teeth clean.

 

I think we were just lucky with Quinn's teeth (at 2 she has no build up), but I give her enzymatic chews from the vet around 2-3 times a week and have been since she was about 9-10 months old. I feel they must help, as I was pretty inconsistent with brushing up to a few months ago. At our 2 year vet check a couple weeks ago, they told me to continue whatever I was doing, so I have been recommending the chews (even though I do not particularly like rawhide type chews). This is what we buy at our vet office: https://ca.virbac.com/product/chews/cet-enzymatic-chews-for-dogs

I am currently using the same brand toothpaste in beef flavour, but previously used Nylabone brand from a pet show.

 

I use the Logic Gel. I generally brush at some point during the morning, I don't think it has to be necessarily done after each meal. Coco loves it - I apply 2cm to a brush and press it into the bristles with my finger - Coco then licks my finger, then I brush one side. Repeat for the other side. Then 1cm for his front teeth - the packet suggests 5cm for a large dog - Coco has a huge mouth! I think the Virbac stuff is the same, maybe a different flavour, I'm not sure what flavour the Logic is. Logic also do the chews - I've not tried those (yet).

 

Thanks @edzbird!
@QuinnM15 We did the Virbac VeggieDent sticks but they didn't seem to do much for his teeth. I wonder if those rawhide chews would work better.

 

The VeggieDent chews don't have the enzymatic product, which is what helps breaks down the tartar from what I understand. I like the beefhide chews because they take a good 10-15 minutes for Quinn rather than the 5 seconds the Veggiedent is gobbled, so she gets one on her bed in the evening a few times a week and they are a big treat for her. It's the only thing she ever has that she eyes you suspiciously if you come too close while she has one (she sometimes stands at the door so she can take it outside away from us )

 

@QuinnM15 Oh that makes sense!! Thanks for the clarification! They sure do love their food/treats

 

I’m no dentist but I was once told that you shouldn’t brush your teeth soon after eating because the act of eating increases mouth acidity and softens the enamel or somesuch so you are more likely to damage them if you do so. Might be tosh, but I never brush immediately after eating.

 

Carbon (my new foster) is also only a year old with quite a bit of tartar on his molars. Very similar to the photo of Aspen. I'm going to try to scale his teeth like I used to with Brogan, but it's going to take a while to work up to that point. Now I'm just touching his teeth with my fingers when we play/cuddle to get him used to having his mouth messed with. He also has stinky breath, which such a young dog shouldn't have.

With Brogan, when he'd get what I used to call "swamp breath" I knew it was time for a scaling. Not a brushing, a scaling. I'd scale them (remove all tartar) and presto! no more swamp breath. I usually did it about once a month. There can be other medical causes for bad breath so it is worth discussing with your vet first, but with Brogan it was definitely down to the tartar build up.

There are veterinary dental technicians that will do the scaling (cleaning) without anaesthesia. Frankly, I don't know how this would work if you don't positively de-sensitive your dog to have his mouth handled in that way before the cleaning. But I know people who swear by it, so it may be worth looking into.

 

@snowbunny That's good to know! Thank you!