The importance of raising awareness about the oral hygiene of dogs and cats – Diario Veterinario

The dental health of pets is essential to ensure their well-being. Neglecting your hygiene can cause major problems, leading to annoying infections or tooth loss. However, many owners forget about this care and that makes dental, oral and maxillofacial diseases the most common in small animals.
With the aim of promoting dental care in dogs and cats, Virbac has created a new section on its website to offer advice to owners and animal health professionals to prevent and eliminate the most common oral problems in these pets. The website has a space for dogs and another for cats, with information on the most important oral diseases, tips to avoid them and solutions offered by Virbac for prevention. But how to detect a dental health problem in a small animal? Virbac experts say that the most obvious symptom is halitosis or bad breath. Once this symptom is observed in the pet, it is necessary to “identify the causes” of it in order to eliminate it. Specifically, halitosis can be caused by poor eating habits of snacks or by diseases such as periodontitis, diabetes, certain kidney or liver disorders and some alterations of the intestinal microbiota. TIPS TO IMPROVE ORAL HEALTH In both dogs and cats, Virbac advises “scheduling a vet appointment to address underlying issues and cleaning your animal’s teeth regularly.” In cats, “the symptoms can be difficult to detect, but the bacteria involved, in addition to causing painful damage inside the cat’s mouth, can affect other parts of his body.” Even if you go to the vet, you should also be aware of your oral health on a day-to-day basis, for which they offer some solutions, since “prevention is always better than cure”. For this reason, it is advisable to add an anti-plaque solution to the water, such as the Vet Aquadent Fresh solution. In addition, the company has Virbac’s CET enzymatic toothpaste, which prevents the accumulation of dental plaque and tartar, while stimulating defenses natural from the oral cavity, thanks to its dual enzymatic system. Specifically, in cats “brushing is the most effective way to remove plaque.” To do this, they advise always using a toothbrush and toothpaste designed for pets, since some of the ingredients in toothpaste for humans are toxic to cats. They also insist that an essential measure to prevent oral diseases “is take care of your diet”, eliminating those foods that encourage the appearance of plaque and tartar and introducing healthy treats and snacks. In the case of dogs, Virbac has dental snacks, such as Veggiedent Fresh and Veggiedent Zen, which help combat oral problems and bad breath. Finally, they emphasize the need for pets to “exercise daily”.