February is National Pet Dental Health Month. That had nothing to do with why we took two of our guys to the dentist, but it is a good tie in for the blog post.
The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that eighty percent (80 percent!) of dogs have some form of periodontal disease by the time they are two years old. Periodontal infections have been linked to diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and other life threatening disorders. They say the best way to prevent periodontal disease is by regularly brushing your pet’s teeth.
It was while brushing Loki’s teeth that Heather noticed a discoloration on one of his far back molars; a black spot that we thought to be a cavity. Snuffy was already going in to the dentist for a consultation so we signed Loki up as well.
Snuff had two root canals about five years ago, so we are a little more aware of what’s going on with his teeth.
Dr. Gregg DuPont checked Loki out and diagnosed him as having a periodontal defect. One back tooth would be removed.
So the dogs get dropped off in the morning.
I get a call at 10:00. We have a problem. The tooth on the other side is also messed up. In some way, the doc was able to determine that Loki had some major event at 5 months old, most likely a battle with Parvo. All these months later, some 2 years, and it is still causing issues. Consider that a reminder for everyone to make sure you get your puppies vaccinated.
Here are the pics of what they worked on.
Poor Loki was not a happy guy when he got home.
So how can you help the dental health of your pooches?
Simple, take 5 seconds out of your day and brush their teeth. Ok, it actually takes thirty seconds because you have to get out the toothbrush and put toothpaste on it, but the doc says as little as five seconds per day on the outside of the teeth is all you need to do to keep your best friend smiling.
Here’s a little video from AVMA.
the American Canine 
