Plaque, tartar and the window that closes in days

Plaque, tartar and the window that closes in days

Dental disease is the most common thing a vet finds in a dog or cat's mouth, and the thing owners most often say they had no idea about. Part of the reason is that the animal does not complain. Part of it is that the disease is invisible until it is not.

How common it really is

The honest answer is: it depends on how hard you look. A 2020 review pulled together the studies on dogs. When vets examined awake dogs in a normal consultation, they found periodontal disease in roughly one dog in ten. When dogs were examined properly under anaesthetic, with probing and X-rays, the figure was between 44% and 100% depending on the study. Small breeds and older dogs were worse.

A study of nearly a hundred research beagles found measurable gum attachment loss in one in five dogs by their first birthday, rising to 84% of dogs over three. You will often see "80% of dogs by age three" quoted; Cornell's veterinary college uses a similar figure. It is a reasonable summary of these studies rather than a single finding.

Cats are not exempt. A 2023 study of more than 18,000 cats in UK veterinary practices found periodontal disease was the single most commonly diagnosed disorder, and cats with it were on average nearly twice the age of cats without.

The window that matters

Plaque is the soft film that forms on teeth within hours of eating. You can brush it off. Left alone, minerals in saliva harden it into tartar, the brown crust you can see along the gum line. Once it has hardened, brushing no longer removes it; that takes a scale and polish under anaesthetic. The process takes days, not months, which is why brushing works when it is frequent and barely works when it is occasional.

That is not a guess. A trial in dogs compared brushing daily, every other day, weekly and every two weeks. Daily and every-other-day brushing significantly reduced plaque, tartar and gum inflammation. Weekly and fortnightly brushing did much less. If you can only manage twice a week, it is better than nothing, but the benefit drops off steeply.

What a finger brush is for

Most dogs and cats will not tolerate a toothbrush at first. A finger brush or a finger wipe is a way in: your finger is a familiar thing, the animal can feel where it is, and you can work along the outside of the teeth without opening the mouth. Start with a few seconds of the outer surfaces, where tartar builds most, and stop before the animal objects. The goal for the first fortnight is tolerance, not clean teeth.

Use a pet toothpaste, or nothing. Human toothpaste contains fluoride and often xylitol, both of which are a problem when swallowed, and an animal swallows all of it.

What we stock for this

Neither replaces a veterinary dental. If you can already see brown tartar or the gums are red, that is where to start.

References

  1. Wallis C, Holcombe LJ (2020). A review of the frequency and impact of periodontal disease in dogs. Journal of Small Animal Practice 61:529–540. onlinelibrary.wiley.com
  2. Kortegaard HE, Eriksen T, Baelum V (2008). Periodontal disease in research beagle dogs: an epidemiological study. Journal of Small Animal Practice 49:610–616. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  3. O'Neill DG et al. (2023). Periodontal disease in cats under primary veterinary care in the UK: frequency and risk factors. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. journals.sagepub.com
  4. Harvey C, Serfilippi L, Barnvos D (2015). Effect of frequency of brushing teeth on plaque and calculus accumulation, and gingivitis in dogs. Journal of Veterinary Dentistry 32(1):16–21. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
  5. Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Riney Canine Health Center. Dental disease in dogs.
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