Keeping your dog's teeth and gums healthy doesn't have to be complicated! Here, we explain five easy steps you can take to ensure your pup has strong and healthy teeth through a proper diet.
Plaque is a natural component of the mouth's bacterial balance. It is soft,
colourless, and easily removable with a firm brush. But while plaque is a normal part of the mouth's bacterial system, it can harden on the teeth if it is not removed on a regular basis, eventually becoming tartar.
Tartar attaches firmly to the tooth's surface, causing irritation to the gums, and further leading to tissue loss in the inflamed gingiva. Once plaque has formed into tartar it can only be removed by dental instruments. Prevention is crucial and it there is no better time to start than now!
Learn how to provide essential nutrients and supplemental treats that will help clean their teeth, and find out ways to prevent dental problems.
Include Food Items That Clean Teeth.
To help clean their teeth, include ingredients that support nutritious dental care in your pup’s diet. Incorporating crunchy items like raw fruits and vegetables such as apples, cucumbers, and squash can help remove plaque and tartar buildup. This helps prevent bacterial growth, which causes bad breath and gum disease. Crispy treats like special chew sticks are also a great way to clean hard-to-reach areas of the mouth!
Raw, meaty bones are an excellent food to help keep your dog's teeth
clean. Because of their mildly abrasive texture and their ability to flex around the teeth, raw meaty bones can help remove dental plaque. Feed bones such as turkey drumstick, or large marrow bones. Never feed small or cooked bones as these can splinter and become lodged in your dog's intestines. Always supervise your dog when chewing bones.
Limit Snacks and Treats.
As tasty as snacks can be for your pup, it’s best to limit treats high in sugar or starch because they can cause plaque and tartar build-up. When you do give a treat make sure it’s nutritious and low in sugar. Also, keep treats small enough so that your pup won’t gulp them down, helping thoroughly clean the teeth!
Ensure that your dog's main diet is a nutritionally balanced diet such as the Delivery Hound range of Man's Best. Each formulation has a kibble size appropriate to breed size. Our puppy lamb formula is smaller in size to maintain comfort to a new pups mouth. Delivery Hound will deliver Man's Best Grain Free Dry Kibble to your door throughout Sydney and surrounding suburbs. Subscribe and save through our refill and reuse dog food subscription service. The only Dog Food Delivery Company in Australia that has no single-use plastic. Good for your dog and the environment!
Use a Specialised Hard Dog Chew Toy Regularly.
Specialised chew toys can help your pup’s oral health by allowing them to chew off plaque and food particles that have gotten stuck in between their teeth. You should provide a hard, durable dog toy for your pup that is also edible to get the most out of it. Make sure the size of the chew toys is appropriate for your pup and not bigger than what they can handle.
Feed Your Dog Multiple Small Meals Throughout the Day.
To promote healthy oral care in your dog, you should feed them multiple small meals throughout the day. This gives your hound ample opportunity to snack on their food and chew on things like bones and toys in between meals. These chew-filled snacks can help to reduce the amount of plaque buildup in your pup’s mouth while also fulfilling their dietary needs. Make sure to provide proper nutrition so that the meal sizes don’t become too large for your pooch.
Improve Their Diet With Natural Additives
Incorporate natural additives into your pup’s diet to help improve their overall oral care. There are plenty of options available, such as adding probiotic yogurt powder or turmeric paste to their food. Probiotics add beneficial bacteria to your pup’s network of helpful microorganisms, while turmeric paste helps reduce inflammation in gums and joints. Natural seaweed based Plaque treatments are very effective at keeping plaque from building up and can reduce existing plaque from your dogs teeth. PlaqueAway is sprinkled on your dogs kibble at every meal. If you add these items to your pup’s diet on a regular basis, it will help to keep their teeth healthy and strong.
Risk factors that contribute to periodontal disease in dogs include:
- Breed. Toy breeds, small dogs, and dogs with short muzzles are prone to overcrowding and rotation of teeth, as well as misalignment. This encourages the accumulation of food and debris between the teeth, leading to periodontal disease.
- Age. The older the dog, the longer dental disease has to accumulate.
- Immune system health. A healthy immune system contributes to a healthy mouth.
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