Not caring for pet’s teeth at home, not only results in unnecessary pain and suffering for your pet, but it can be extremely costly.

Timothy, a 5 year old Bijon, started pawing at his mouth and was off his food. Timothy’s owners made an appointment to see the vet. Timothy’s teeth were in bad shape as he was suffering from painful periodontal (gum) disease. His owners did not realise that his bad breath was a sign of dental disease and were very upset to hear he had been suffering for at least two years. Pets don’t show signs of pain like we do and poor Timothy had been suffering in silence until the pain was so bad that he could not eat.

Timothy was booked in for a dental and required surgical removal of four of his teeth, as well as repair of four furcations (dip in the gum line between tooth roots).

The total cost of this to Timothy’s owners was $1,003.70. A distressing and expensive lesson. Timothy’s owners now understand that if they had looked after his teeth, this painful disease and expensive treatment could have been avoided.

 

Mac, a 10 year old Daschund, was bought in to the vet because he had a runny nose and was continuously sneezing. On examination, his teeth were in a terrible state and the periodontal disease (gum disease) was so bad that it had eaten away the bone in his upper jaw resulting in an oronasal fistula. An oronasal fistula is an abnormal passageway between the mouth and nasal cavity which can be caused by periodontal disease (gum disease) progressing to the point where there is loss in bone integrity of the upper jaw.  The oronasal fistula allows food and fluids from the mouth to accumulate in the airways and cause a respiratory tract infection. In short, Mac’s mouth was connected to his nasal cavity through a hole in his mouth! This is why Mac had a runny nose and was sneezing.

Dachshunds frequently develop oronasal fistulas secondary to periodontal disease. Mac required 6 extractions and surgical repair of the oronasal fistula. The total cost to Mac’s owners was $1,108.70

As well as avoiding the distress of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to their pets’, Timothy’s and Mac’s owners could have saved themselves the expense of these dental procedures by investing a small amount of time and money in daily dental homecare such as tooth brushing or use of Maxiguard gel or wipes.

Don’t leave your pet’s teeth until they get as bad as Timothy’s and Mac’s. Prevention is key and it is never too soon to start looking after your pet’s teeth. You can save yourself even more if you get in on the act this week, because there is 25% off all pet dental homecare products this week.