We often neglect the importance of our dog’s dental health. The long-term effect is that with the tartar build-up, our dog’s teeth will soon develop gum disease and tooth decay. This will inevitably cause them discomfort and pain and in severe cases, life-threatening situations. We spend a decade and a half building up an affinity with this weird little creature that we love and we do not want their quality of life to deteriorate as they age. Therefore we ought to take care of their oral health. Toothaches will cause your dog to not be able to eat when they are older, and hence decrease their lifespan. It will also cost you a bomb for a visit to the vet for dental treatment, not to mention there’s always risks involved in anaesthesia. Therefore, prevention is always better than cure.

Daily Toothbrushing

The first-in-line should be the habit of daily tooth brushing. Using a toothbrush with pet toothpaste or Chlorhexidine, brush your dog’s teeth at least once daily to remove plaque. On top of that, dental chews toys are a great aid to maintain good oral health and should be given to your dog frequently. However, although they are good for their teeth, more often than not they do not taste as well, and hence dogs are not motivated to chew on them. Commercial chews such as antlers and Yak sticks are available in the market, however, these are mostly factory-made, and therefore not as fresh and also not motivating enough for our pooch to persistently chew on them.

Dehydrated bones

Luckily, there’s a natural way to clean their teeth, which is to chew on dehydrated bones. Bones not only provide calcium, they also provide excellent tartar clearing effect. However, not all bones are suitable, cooked or baked bones are definitely out of the question, as the heat applied causes the bones to become brittle and hence easily splinter and may cause a blockage in our dog’s stomach. The secret isto feed them raw bones, but raw bones also come with bacteria infection risk.

Our Recommendation

Therefore, I recommend dehydrated bones. These bones must be carefully prepared. First, the fatty portion of the meat should be carefully cleared, leaving nothing but a small amount of lean meat and bone. Then these bones have to be dehydrated in a proper manner for at least 48 hours at temperatures of 70-80 degrees Celsius, only then would the bones be safe for consumption. These bones provide dental health benefits and will also entertain your beloved fur friend for hours. As a Dentist and also a dog lover, nothing beats seeing my dog cleaning her teeth while enjoying her treat at the same time!

If you are looking for dental chews that are freshly made, healthy, and safe for consumption, do check out Ah Chye Pet Treats! Their chews are 100% natural with no additives and my dog just loves them. On top of that, their chews are very affordable, certainly much cheaper than a scaling session which might cost a few thousand dollars.

Here are some before and after photos of Pablo, Isabella Chua's Dog

We do care for our dogs and definitely would like them to enjoy life as much as possible, and dental health is a big part of the picture. I hope to continue to share more about the many aspects of Pet health in the days to come.