Dental Benefits and Raw

[Jem]

I was puppy sitting for a 9 month old golden retriever a couple weeks ago. Because I am a vet tech, and because I feed raw, of course I HAD to look at her teeth. I shouldn't have been surprised by the tartar already built up, but I kind of was...she is only 9 months old and eats Canidae! I have definatley seen worse teeth, but this isn't a good sign for such a young dog! Jemma's teeth were probably that bad before I started raw, but now hers are pearly white again!! (she is 18 months old). I just like to see the benefits of raw in action and pass them along!!

Here is also an excerpt from an online article about canine dental health:
http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/dise...dentalcare.htm
How is the rest of the body affected by bad teeth?
Infected gums and teeth aren't just a problem in the mouth -- the heart, kidneys, intestinal tract, and joints may also be infected. The tartar and any infected areas of the mouth contain a multitude of bacteria than can 'seed' to other parts of the body.


**Sorry the pictures are a bit blurry...dogs wouldn't hold still****

9 mo/old Golden Retriever's teeth:


Jemma's teeth:


Google images of a dog with bad teeth...
(and this isn't the worst of em!)

[malluver1005]

You're not the only one. I look at dogs' teeth all the time. I've seen a lot of dogs and encountered a lot of young ones with tarter buildup. 9 months is really young. Tarter really bugs me. I try to keep Aspen's teeth as clean as can be. I really do believe that if some owners took better care of their dogs teeth, a lot of problems can be avoided. It all starts with a healthy mouth, IMO.

[DaneMama]

Healthy mouth means a healthy system. This past month was dental health month and we were doing 2-3 dentals each day...gross. The picture above is not a rarity for us to see, its common for us to pull almost all the teeth in some cases when it gets that bad

[spookychick13]

What Natalie said!
Gross gross gross and stinky.

Even though I'm the practice manager here and mostly do...annoying work, I am the only tech that knows how to do a dental..so I do at least one a day usually. Some of the teeth are SO NASTY. I wear a mask, goggles and gloves and I still feel like I want a shower some days.

I can't believe that golden pup had such bad teeth at such a young age.

[LindaP]

Today, yet again, a random stranger stops to say hi to Cali and remarks about how white and gleaming her teeth are. No kidding, this happens fairly regularly. It never occurred to me that people would notice, but they do look so white and clean. Yet another thumbs up for raw!

[g00dgirl]

It's pretty amazing what diet can do.
When I took Felix and Delilah in last year my vet commented that Felix (then 2years old with pearly white teeth) just had age on his side, compared to Delilah's teeth. Poor Delilah had been on kibble for about the first 6 years of her life. So there are just some things raw won't fix on it's own.
I never told him I fed raw, he's such a great vet I'm afraid to mess it up if he doesn't approve!

[harrkim120]

Is it just my awesome computer or can you guys also not see the picture of Jemma's teeth?

Makes me sad. lol

[malluver1005]

I did notice Jemma's beautiful teeth, but just forgot to write something down (I was in a hurry, sorry). I think we can all agree that Jemma is a great example of one of the wonders of a raw diet.

[harrkim120]

I did notice Jemma's beautiful teeth, but just forgot to write something down (I was in a hurry, sorry). I think we can all agree that Jemma is a great example of one of the wonders of a raw diet.

Haha...no, I really can't see her teeth. The picture never loads for me. You silly.

[malluver1005]

My bad, I thought you were just saying that we didn't comment on her nice teeth! But she does have nice teeth.