THREE MYTHS ABOUT PET DENTAL HYGIENE

1) Eating dry food keeps your pet's teeth clean: Wrong; pets need tooth brushing and dental cleanings to keep their mouths clean and healthy. 2) The harder the chew toy, the better: No way; if a toy is too hard for you to indent with a thumbnail, it's hard enough to break your dog's teeth. 3) It's natural for dogs to have stinky breath: Not true! Bad breath is a sign of gum disease or other problems. PET DENTAL HEALTH SEMINAR IS TOMORROW HOW TO PREVENT DENTAL DISEASE IN YOUR PET: 1) Brush your dog or cat's teeth every day, if possible (never use human toothpaste, which can be toxic to them). 2) Apply a sealant once a week to slow down the formation of tartar. 3) Flip the lip. Look inside your pet's mouth once a week. 4) Give your pet plaque-fighting treats and chews. 5) Make sure your pet sees the vet at least once a year and follow your vet's recommendations for cleaning and treatment. SIGNS YOUR PET MIGHT HAVE DENTAL PROBLEMS PET CLINICS

TELL SOME PEOPLE they should brush their pet's teeth and you might get a giant horselaugh, but it's no joking matter. Almost 70 percent of dogs and cats over the age of 3 years suffer from periodontal or other dental diseases, making it their most common form of disease.

February is National Pet Dental Health Month, sponsored by the American Veterinary Medical Association and other organizations to raise public awareness of the issue.

Periodontal disease causes bad breath, painful, bleeding gums and tooth and bone loss. It starts with plaque, an invisible film teeming with bacteria, which attaches to the teeth and forms tartar, the brownish stuff that makes teeth look dirty. Tartar presses on the gums, forcing them to recede, and inflames them--that's gingivitis.

Tartar mineralizes into calculus, a concrete crust that can cover the whole tooth and spread below the gum line. The resulting bone loss can make the jaw so thin that it fractures easily. As gingivitis progresses to periodontitis, the teeth may become loose and fall out.

The mouth becomes "an apartment complex for bacteria," Dr. Andrew Olson of St. Francis Animal Hospital says. Dental disease can cause other problems like facial abscesses, eye infections and bladder infections--or worse.

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"I felt it would be malpractice not to have this machine."

That's how strongly Dr. Kathy Kallay feels about the state-of-the-art dental X-ray machine at her clinic, Four Paws Animal Hospital & Wellness Center. When she was readying the facility to open in September of 2006, the decision to invest in the dental X-ray "was a no-brainer."

"Without it, you feel around with a dental probe and you can miss things. You might find a small pocket in the gum but think the tooth is still firmly attached and not extract it. With a dental X-ray, you could see that the same tooth has an infected pocket higher up, and know you have to treat it. Without the X-ray, you're guessing."

Dr. Kallay will give a seminar on pet dental health and care tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. at Pup 'N Iron Canine Fitness & Learning Center, 21 Perchwood Drive, Unit 111, Stafford County. The lecture is free, but space is limited and reservations are suggested. Call Laurie Williams at 540/659-7614

Four Paws Animal Hospital and Wellness Center, 10088 Jefferson Davis Highway, Massaponax, Spotsylvania County, 540/898-5388

Just Cats Veterinary Clinic, 416 Bridgewater St., Fredericksburg, 540/899-3644

St. Francis Animal Hospital, 4624 Harrison Road, Spotsylvania County, 540/891-1275 Tidewater Trail Animal Hospital, 10839 Tidewater Trail, Fredericksburg, 540/361-7050

Avoiding food, eating slowly and/or preferring soft to hard food

Increased drooling

Refusing to play with chew toys

Bad breath

Dirty teeth

Swollen or bleeding gums

Shying away from contact with its mouth or head

Listlessness, refusing to play, bad temper

Date published: 2/24/2007

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