Hello

I have a five year old black labrador (female), and just had a nails clipped not by her regular vet who examined her teeth and said they needed cleaning - asked what i was feeding her and recommended Science Diet.    She had a touch of gingivitus a couple of years ago and as a result did have teeth cleaned. I told him stopped using science diet as made her fat and didn't help her teeth i.e didn't keet them clean. So changed to Burns which she likes as more variety but does tend to gulp it down with the occassional crunching of the kibble.  I also give her after dinner one hi-life bag o bone hide dog chew.  Must admit i probably ilke many others don't regularly clean her teeth myself!

I have booked her in with my regular vets for a dental exam as need to as part of insurance requirement but wondered if anyone had any suggestions as to help re teeth.  A friend has suggested plaque off by proden.

A good sized raw knuckle bone will help keep tartar and plaque down.. :-)

I am always concerned about raw bones splintering though

You could try plaque off, fragaria and logic gel but TBH the best way to keep teeth clean is a large recreational bone for gnawing on :)

Dogs don't chew - their jaws aren't designed to do so - they crunch and tear food stuffs hence why many dry complete eaters whose owners don't take extra precautions re dental hygiene often have dirty teeth.

If the dog has a descale, it's even more important than ever to ensure teeth cleaning is kept up - in the absence of recreational bones then the reality is a combo of the products suggested plus daily brushing.  Descaling leaves the surface of the teeth pitted and more prone to plaque forming and gingivitus causes the gums to recede which in turns causes exposed rough parts on the lower part of the teeth making the problem worse.

regards, Teri

many people have this concern, and I think its a personal thing, I dont have a problem feeding raw bones, and the dogs have super white teeth..

Knuckles bones (RAW) rarely, if ever splinter, they are very dense, and takes a lot of gnawing (which cleans the teeth)  Marrow bones are good too..

Cooked bones will splinter, and should never be given to a dog..

What type of knuckle bone woudl you recommend and where?

can you recommend a bone?

Ask you butcher for a knuckle bone - the larger the better :)

you also mentioned a recreational bone - any particular one?

Hi Connie

a recreational bone is one not used as part of the dog's diet - just to gnaw on / play with, such as the raw knuckle bones already suggested :)

doh! its been one of those days today!

Hi I tried one of the hard white bones you can buy in a pet shop with filling in - didn't work as made my dog sick.  Bought a hide bone with knots either end - turned her nosed up. 

She has had a yearly dental check 2-3 weeks ago and the vet thought they were ok?

Definitely a large raw knuckle bone is the best teeth cleaner. I adopted a really old dog some years back, and his teeth were filthy and covered in tartar. My vet commented on it when I took him in for a check up. There was no question of a dental because of his age.

He was treated to a large marrowbone regularly, as were my other dogs and I thought nothing of it/ When I took him back to the vets for something else and he looked in his mouth, he couldn't believe how clean his teeth were. All the tartar had gone and his gums were looking healthy. He never had a days problem with his teeth.

Plaque off is good for some dogs too. My youngest GSD, despite having bones can get dirty teeth, and I just use Plaque off for a couple of weeks, and they are sparkling white again.