Doggie Dental Discussion

The "it's time for a dental cleaning" look.

If you've been following me for a while, you'll know I post a lot about dental decay, dog gingivitis, and oral health. The reason for that is because I am the proud fur mom to two senior Yorkies. Yorkies are notorious for being many things such as intelligent, hypo-allergenic, and downright adorable, but they are also known as one of the top ten breeds that is prone to dental disease. Periodontitis disease and gingivitis is a very serious thing that can cause serious issues for your pup, including death.

To be fair, Yorkies are genetically predisposed to the disease, and so don't worry if you cannot keep up with the decay. It's genetic and needs to be addressed as it comes. I've religiously had my dogs professionally cleaned by the vet with anesthesia 2x a year along with giving them dental bones, and brushing their teeth every 5 days. It's a constant battle but I've gathered some stories and articles on just how serious and costly dental disease with your pup can be:

  • Seven years ago I shared an article on dog gingivitis and how my oldest Bebe had already started to lose teeth. You can find that article here.
  • Three years ago after giving my dogs a bath and a foul-smelling tooth fell out of my dogs mouth I quickly scheduled an emergency cleaning and ended up spending several hundreds of dollars, I had my dog's teeth cleaned, scaled, and mostly removed at with Dr. Alex Casuccio at Scottsdale Animal Healthcare. That post really shows the effects of plaque build up. 
  • Then sadly, this year I had experienced the most traumatic event a fur mom could never prepare for. My dog almost died during a routine dental tooth cleaning. A dirty needle was administered in her IV and she became paralyzed and bacterial sepsis nearly killed her. As you can imagine we no longer are going the anesthesia route!
  • Last month I found a holistic vet that did anesthesia-free cleanings. The process took 25 minutes but the vet only did my younger one's teeth. The older dog, the one who had almost died earlier in the year was too agitated and didn't want her mouth touched. Below is a photo of Jolie getting her teeth cleaned without anesthesia.

Now that my dogs are seniors and at risk of being put under anesthesia, a real concern of mine is how to keep them healthy as their age now constricts them of certain things. I scaled and have been on a daily basis trying to brush my eldest teeth with a toothbrush and some enzymatic toothpaste. It's a struggle, but I am successful with some of that plaque removal. Due to the fact that my eldest was denied teeth cleaning, I am more aware and observant to the state of her decay and plaque buildup since I need to find a way to tame it myself. I was downright delighted to discover that this month Chewy.com featured a product called Perio Dental Support Pro Powder for Dogs
The description of the product is what immediately grabbed my attention, "Take the hassle out of cleaning your pup’s teeth". The hassle is putting it lightly, try to envision holding your dog in between your legs and trying to gently pry their mouth to get a toothbrush in there, all while getting the toothpaste everywhere except in their mouth! I was happy to read that this was a powder administered in their food instead of another toothpaste challenge.
This powder is a tasty, aromatic powder that’s designed for use between dental cleanings to promote clean teeth, fresh breath and oral health. The instructions state to simply sprinkle Perio over your pup's meals, and allow this pawsome supplement to help prevent tartar buildup and plaque formation by working organically to eradicate bacteria. Perio Support contains natural zeolites that may help prevent plaque from forming and the cranberry powder helps to support gum tissue health, and probiotics to help displace plaque-building bacteria.

The claims say that it has been clinically proved to remove 18% of tartar and 20% of plaque in just 28 days. I have not had this product for a full four weeks yet but have been using it religiously for a full two weeks. What I've noticed is the following
  • my fussy yorkies are picky eaters and actually eat this with no problem
  • their breath has gotten better, more kisses for mom and from mom!
  • Bebe's tartar has become easier to clean off after using this product!
Being that Bebe only has about five teeth left I believe that the percentages of tartar and plaque removal are definitely in her favor. I am excited to see the results after a full four weeks and will post an update here when that time comes. This product also comes highly recommended by vets and so I do trust that the results will be positive! 


I received these goodies free of charge from Chewy.com in an exchange for my honest review.

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