Skipping dental care can be dangerous.
February is not just for Valentine’s Day. It’s also a month set aside by the veterinary profession to exalt the benefits of dental health for our pets. Good dental practices for human mammals have medically demonstrable benefits to our overall health, and those same practices, continued for our furry companions, have very similar effects. Actually, our pets need even more care since they don’t have opposable thumbs and can’t brush their own teeth. Also, several dog and cat breeds have an increased risk of serious dental issues that can drastically and adversely affect their health and lifespan.
Just as continued medical research into human disease and health is providing us with more diagnostics and treatments than were available one hundred years ago, that research is leading the veterinary profession into the same improved care and opportunities for the betterment of our beloved pets’ health, including dental health. In the past, cracking off bulky tartar by giving our dog a big bone (don’t do this, by the way) was considered enough. Now dental treatments have progressed, for example, to the opportunity to get a root canal (and more) for the military/working dogs whose “bite” is so important for our protection.
Imagine having a severe infection at the root of your tooth or even large areas of gingivitis and experiencing the maddening and continual pain from that. Then imagine your furry baby having several areas of infection/gingivitis and not being able to communicate that pain; they seem to just continue eating (maybe not as much or as well) and going on with life without complaint. Of course, you would want to spare them that experience. But the bacteria continually present in their mouth get into the bloodstream and cause problems in the overall body, especially in their heart and kidneys. Actually, having constant dental infections is one of the primary causes of severe heart and kidney diseases. Now you can be your furry baby’s hero by doing your best to prevent those contributing dental infections and get several more years of unconditional love for your efforts.
You and your veterinarian are partners in keeping your beloved companions as healthy as possible, so use this month, as well as the other eleven, to monitor their mouths and follow through with as many recommendations as possible to keep those mouths and the accompanying bodies in glowing health. Don’t think that if a root canal is out of your reach, you may slide with their dental monitoring; there are many simple things that you can do to help your baby. And your veterinary partner will be with you all the way and would cherish sharing some of your baby’s sloppy, sweet-smelling kisses and love for themselves. After all, that “payment” is more precious to veterinarians than gold.