Oral Health Tips for Pet Owners

Pet owners need to take care of their pets whenever there are problems. Did you know that if your pet’s teeth are a mess, chances are yours will be too.  a lot of times, people don’t realize that their pet’s health can actually affect your health, which is quite surprising. 

Here, we’ll go over the common issues with a pet’s teeth, and how, as a pet owner, you can prevent these risks for your pet’s health, and your oral health. 

Oral Health Problems and Zoonotic Diseases

Your pet’s oral health can actually be shared with a human in some cases. These are called zoonotic diseases, which can transmit to humans. 

One example is plaque. The plaque of a dog can be a form of resistance to microbes, and can be shared with a human if there is close contact. So if your dog licks your face, it has a chance to share those microbes.   Children who have dogs tend to notice these genes in their plaque more than a child who grew up not around dogs.

Another is periodontal pathogens. Dogs and cats can get periodontitis just like how we do, but it can also be transmitted to different species in some cases. This is actually very common for animals in households that may share a water bowl for example.   If they are sharing various receptacles, it does increase the risk with however many dogs are within the household too. 

Dental Health and Pets 

Pets can have the same issues that humans have with their teeth. Gum disease, plaque, and even gingivitis can happen in animals. Just like with humans, these can fall out, resulting in needing to use different means to consume the foods they have. This does impact nutrition as well. 

Using oral products is a good way to prevent this from getting worse.   Brushing the teeth daily helps prevent dental disease and bad breath. Brushing on the regular does remove the bacteria that’s there, stimulate your gums, and also fights bacteria under the gumline area. 

There are plenty of different dental care items as well you can get for animals.   Some are good for them even if they’re made for humans. However, not all toothbrushes are good for animals, as some of the human ones may damage the gums, cause stress to the animal, and just be bad at cleaning.

Try to get them checkups for cleaning on the regular. While some animals like cats may not need cleanings until they’re older, dogs benefit from this, and once a year they should get in for a cleaning so that they’re able to have healthy teeth for the long run.

It’s also a great thing to do especially to find out if there are any problems with your pets. Oral health issues do pop up randomly, so keeping in mind that there is a problem with oral health is good. by properly taking initiative, you too can care for your pet. 

Overall, oral health is important, and the connection between this and a human’s oral health is unfortunately more common than you’d think. As a pet owner, you owe it to yourself to have the proper initiatives in place for your pet, and this of course, includes oral health. Taking care of this now will prevent some major issues from happening down the line, and can ultimately save your pet’s teeth if you’re not careful. 

Taking care of it now will also make things better for pet owners who want to keep their pet around for the long haul too.