The dental health of pets is essential to ensure their well-being. Neglecting your hygiene can cause major problems, leading to troublesome infections or tooth loss. However, many owners forget this care and this makes dental, oral and maxillofacial diseases the most common in small animals.
In an effort to promote dental care in dogs and cats, Virbac has created a new section on your website intended to advise owners and animal health professionals with whom prevent and eliminate oral problems more common in these pets. The site has a space for dogs and another for cats, with information on the most important oral diseases, advice on how 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 the most obvious symptom is halitosis or bad breath. Once this symptom has been observed in the animal, it is necessary to “identify the causes” in order to eliminate it.
Specifically, halitosis can be caused by poor snacking habits or by diseases such as periodontitis, diabetes, certain kidney or liver disorders and certain alterations in the intestinal microbiota.
TIPS TO IMPROVE ORAL HEALTH
In both dogs and cats, Virbac recommends “Schedule a vet appointment to address underlying issues and clean the pet’s teeth regularly”. In cats, “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 its body.”
Even if you go to the vet, you should also be aware of your daily oral health, for which they offer solutions, because “prevention is better than cure”. Therefore, it is recommended add an anti-plaque solution to the watersuch as Vet Aquadent Fresh solution.
Additionally, the company has the Virbac CET enzymatic toothpaste, which prevents the accumulation of dental plaque and tartar, while stimulating the natural defenses of the oral cavity, thanks to its double enzymatic system. Specifically, in cats “brushing is the most effective way to remove plaqueTo do this, they advise always using a toothbrush and toothpaste designed for pets, as some ingredients in human toothpaste are toxic to cats.
They also insist that an essential measure to prevent oral diseases “is to take care of your diet”, eliminating foods that promote the appearance of plaque and tartar and introducing healthy treats and snacks. In the case of dogs, Virbac has dental snackssuch as Veggiedent Fresh and Veggiedent Zen, which help with oral problems and bad breath.
Finally, they highlight the need for pets “daily exercise”.