My 9 month old yorkie was castrated recently and as his he had retained quite a lot of puppy teeth and his teeth were not in good condition I asked them to look at them while he was under GA. They removed 10 puppy teeth and when they were scaling the enamel was coming away from some of his teeth and he now has ridges in some of his teeth. They said his teeth were like a 9 year old not 9 months and were probably like this due to poor diet when he was a young pup. As I didn't get him until he was about 4 months I don't know what he was fed but he has been on JWB since being with me, (puppy and then more recently adult formula). The vet has said that he is going to need regular dentals but that I could think about a special diet to help this, Hills Dental Diet, available only from them. Does anyone feed this, is it a good food, and would you recommend it? I don't want to change his diet unless I am sure as he is fit and healthy on his present diet but his teeth are a concern now. Is there anything else I can give him to help?
jane

Now that his teeth are clean fragaria once a week is good for stopping the tartar forming. You can get them from dorwest. Their toothaste is also really good, you only have to use it once a week, if you don't want to or perhpas are unable to clean his teeth you could try the gel stuff that vets sell? Not sure what it is called but friend of mine uses it and reckons it's great stuff. Or the best thing of all for keeping his teeth in good shape BONES! :-D :-P

http://www.dorwest.com/homoeopathics.htm

That's the link to the homoepathic range, you have to click a link on that page to see the full range that they sell:-D

Hi Jane,

I was given a free bag of that (from memory around 5KG) when one of mine had a descale a few years ago - none of the dogs would touch it, offered as a "treat" :rolleyes:

IMO it is only the shape of the kibble which bears any relation to whether or not it may assist in keeping teeth clean - but then again other manufacturers would have us believe their "dental treats" do this too.   The simple fact is that if your dog chews it's food it will keep it's teeth clean and very few dogs actually "chew" dry complete food.

You could try using:-

Logic Gel, a non-brushing tooth gel which you apply with the finger along the gum line. 
PlaqueOff, a powdered supplement added to the food
Fragaria, a homeopathic solution to plaque / tartar

Despite being a toy breed, your dog is still a dog - raw chicken wings (even just the tips) would help to prevent a build up as they require much more chewing, gnawing and crunching than commercial dog foods.

Hopefully something from the above will help :) 
regards, Teri   

Thank you for your replies. I have been using Logic from the vet but his teeth were already in a state. I will look at the web site-thank you. I have heard of Dorwest products and they were recommended for my cairn at a show I went to. I will also provide bones and chicken wings as I feel happier using these as preventatives than changing his diet, as you are quite right he doesn't really chew his food. Thank you for your suggestions they have given me some ideas and I will put them into practice.
jane

sorry to hear about your dogs teeth Jane.

I wanted to thank colliemad for the great link, I have been wanting a good homeopathic site to look in to an alternative way of treating my dogs.

The larger the kibble the more likely the dog is to chew it. For my (medium sized) dalmatians the waltham dental kibble (nearly an inch across) is about the only kibble they crunch. Anything smaller just gets hoovered down without touching the sides! Your dog's smaller than mine, so just find the largest kibble you can and that'll help his teeth. :)

I use the plaqueoff stuff mentioned above and over time it has removed a lot of plaque from my dog's teeth.  I'm a bit cynical about Hills - vets make money by selling this stuff, so you're never quite sure whether they are actually recommending what's best for your dog. 

You've been given some really great suggestions here :) Personally the only thing i have ever used to keep my dogs teeth and gums in shape are rmb's,always give them RAW,never ever cooked!I have never brushed my dogs teeth,nor have they ever had a vet cleaning done,some vets will tell you that you have to bring your dog in once a year for de-scaling,but if the teeth are looked after at home then they wont need a very expensive scaling ;)

For the very rare dog rmb's may not be enough and they will also need to have them brushed a few times a week.But either way yearly dentals should be unecessary if the right things are done at home.

Why not just give your dog a raw bone once a week ,if his teeth are in a bad way though give something like a breast of lamb bone,not a marrow bone as these are way to hard for fragile teeth,My brother has a Dobe who is 13years old and has lost quite a few of her teeth,but she still manages her lamb bones once or twice a week

Read an article in a dog magazine recently where a vet stated that raw diets are responsible for the increase in dogs coming into the surgey these days, yet they are happy to tell an owner that their dog will need regular dentals requiring a GA everytime...No wonder they are so rich....No wonder they recommend Hills ;)
Proove the vet wrong and maintain your young dogs teeth yourself without the need for this regular dental that he/she is proposing.  At such a young age and post dental you have a head start ;)
I have seen some excellent results on a few dogs that have been given plaque away, personally mine get large beef bones for recreation as well as being on a raw diet which obviously incorporates raw meaty bones too.
Good Luck
Sarah

I have only recently started feeding raw and giving raw bones, but the improvement in one of my dogs teeth is truly amazing. 2-3 weeks ago his teeth were pretty awful, coated in tartar and his breath was horrendous - he is nearly 7, so not ancient by any means. Now his teeth are pearly white and his breath is sweet. I had previously tried Plaque-off but didn't find any improvement at all with that.

Thanks to all for your replies and experiences. I have not changed his diet and I will not be giving Hills dental diet. I am taking everyones advice and giving him bones. I am also using Dorwest toothpaste. I feel happier with this course of action rather than changing his food and then worrying about that.
jane