Charlie’s Teeth

Charlie came in 12 months after his last dental because he had some mouth pain and red gums associated with one of his large molar teeth on the upper right side. Charlie is an almost 14 year old Maltese terrier that is looked after better than my kids I think, and the owner was horrified that he would need another dental and anaesthetic. After finally convincing her that I needed to do a dental and when we had Charlie on the table we took an xray of the tooth and it revealed a complete fracture. I was amazed, the owner was amazed and the dog was a trooper. Yes he had stopped eating on the right side but he seemed ok, happy enough and doing most of things he normally does.

Unfortunately as most of you know we should see the dentist at least once per year and preferably twice. We also should brush at least twice a day, floss once, and if your my father in law brush and floss after every meal. So why do dogs teeth deteriorate? Because we don’t brush and floss every day. There are many preventative products that help, (Hills T/D food, oravet chewes, greenies, and healthy mouth) but nothing works as well as brushing.