You know you should be brushing every night, and so should your dog! As we’ve mentioned many times, there is no substitute for dog teeth cleaning. For clean teeth and a healthy mouth, it is essential to start brushing. Need help getting started? Check out our video.
There are millions of dog dental care products out there. From specialty foods to sprays, they’ve thought of everything. And while some of them do work, brushing at home every day is the best way to keep your dog’s teeth clean. And the great news is, you only need two simple dog dental care products.
A Toothbrush
If you’ve been to one of our clinics, you probably were sent home with a toothbrush. If not, you can find one at a local pet store or pharmacy. We like infant toothbrushes because of their soft bristles. It’s the best way to clean dogs’ teeth and massage their gums comfortably. For small dogs, get the tiniest toothbrush you can find so you can fit it into the back of their mouths. Remember, those back teeth are very important.
Toothpaste
It’s very important to never use human toothpaste on a dog. Our toothpaste has all sorts of things in it that we don’t want our dog to swallow. We spit our toothpaste out, but our dogs will swallow what’s in their mouth so we want to make sure we are using dog-friendly products.
Coconut Oil
The best dog dental cleaning toothpaste we’ve come across is coconut oil. Our holistic vet recommended it to us and we love it.
Some of the many benefits are:
- Natural product with no chemicals
- Anti-bacterial helps clean your dog’s mouth by getting into crevices
- Healthy to eat, in fact, it’s a common supplement
- Great for healthy coats
- Inexpensive, you can find great quality coconut oil in the grocery store
- And best of all, most dogs love the taste!
Since we started using coconut oil, our own dogs love teeth brushing time. For those of you who have never seen coconut oil, it comes in a plastic or glass jar and usually, at room temperature is solid. It looks almost like white candle wax. It’s easy to scrape it out, and it will melt to a liquid in just the palm of your hand.
To use coconut oil as a dog toothpaste, scoop out a small amount and allow it to warm in your hand. Once the coconut oil turns into liquid, dab your toothbrush into it and brush your dog’s teeth. Feel free to let them have a lick or two of a spoon after as a reward.
Tropiclean
We also love using Tropiclean’s Clean Teeth Gel [link]. We use it to add some extra cleaning and minty freshness during our dental scaling appointments. Clean Teeth Gel is a great product with natural ingredients and a great minty smell. Although the package states that no toothbrush is required, we urge you to use it as a dog toothpaste and use it with your toothbrush. Just add a dab to your toothbrush and brush normally.
Good luck brushing!