# Anyone's dogs still get tartar buildup?



## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Bishop has been on raw since 8 weeks (so the whole time he's had adult teeth) and he still has a brown stain on his carnassials. None of his other teeth have it, and none of Tess's do. He's a year and 8 months old. Any way I can get rid of it? It's on both sides.

Will he get gingivitis or something in the future because of it?


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## MollyWoppy (Mar 19, 2010)

Just a thought. Mol had one tooth that had tartar on it. Only one tooth. (other than her canines). Eventually I got suspicious enough to take her to the vet and it turned out that tooth had a crack in it.


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## naturalfeddogs (Jan 6, 2011)

​Could definantly be the sign of something causing pain on that side.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

I have the same problem and we've been on raw for 9 months so I am going to get his teeth checked next month. Raw seems to be good for the back teeth, but Stanley's little teeth in the front on the inside are very stained and his incisors (long pointy ones on top) are not good by the gum. He had his teeth cleaned before we got him last year and of course can't remember what they were like. Greyhounds are notorious for not having good teeth anyway. Raw is not the 'be all and end all' for all teeth in all dogs in my opinion, but still the best diet for dogs. I do have a toothbrush and have tried a couple of times and he fairly well tolerates it but I need to practise a bit more.


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## Unosmom (May 3, 2009)

if its nothing serious, you can use a scaler to scale it off, easy and cheap.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

it's for this reason my dogs get complicated bones, like lamb necks (whole)...they have to use every tooth they own to get the meat out of the nooks and crannies...

plus, they get quite a few beef ribs...

i'm sure you could use pork necks, but whole ones and large slabs of ribs since your dogs are bigger. 

plus, i would definitely do what penny suggests and get it checked out....

neither malia or bubba have any tartar...


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## Kat (Jul 12, 2011)

Ruby has a tiny bit on one back tooth on the bottom of both sides of her mouth. When she got groomed the groomer scaled most of it off for me, but there is still a bit. Raw helps with cleaning teeth, but I think its different for all dogs and some may not get as clean as others. I brush her teeth a few times a week, and if I remember to apply it I also have a tooth gel that is supposed to help soften plaque and tartar and make it easier to remove. Could be something for you to look into, its called Tropiclean: Clean teeth gel. On their site they dont show the ingredients so I will type them out for you in case your interested. 

Purified water, corn alcohol, natural mint, glycerin, natural cleanser, aloe vera, carbopol, chlorophyllin, green tea extract.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Sprocket still gets a build up on his canines. Gunner and Mikey have amazingly clean teeth.


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

Yogi is not even 2 yrs old...so, no surprise, there is not any tartar build up at this time...never had a dog that did at this age anyway.
I do give him a RMB every other day and sometimes everyday for a late afternoon treat with benefits of teeth cleaning.


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## rannmiller (Jun 27, 2008)

Milo gets a little bit on his top canines but I think that's because he's not actually having to kill anything with them so they don't get nearly as much use as the rest of his teeth. I just remember to scrape it off with my fingernails every couple of weeks or so and it doesn't get much more than the tiniest bit of yellow.

Has the stain gotten any worse or does it stay the same? How many hard, bony meals does he get per week? 

My dogs get beef ribs or pork neckbones a couple of times a week and aside from Milo's dumb canines (which really aren't that bad at all), we have nice pearly white teeth around here.


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## swolek (Mar 31, 2011)

Mine still have some tartar, mainly on their canines, even after getting complicated RMBs. It's a lot better than it was so I'm hoping it goes away over time. Then again, they rarely use those teeth so I don't know. The vet said their teeth were OK and they didn't need dentals.

But they don't get any new tartar which is neat. The tartar there was there from kibble...


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## Scarlett_O' (May 19, 2011)

Brody's do still look kinda nasty...but no where NEAR what they were starting to look like at not even 2 years old. And his mouth in general is DISGUSTING...so not surprised!:wacko:


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

magicre said:


> it's for this reason my dogs get complicated bones, like lamb necks (whole)...they have to use every tooth they own to get the meat out of the nooks and crannies...
> 
> plus, they get quite a few beef ribs...
> 
> ...


My dogs are smaller than yours LOL. They don't get any necks other than turkey necks and I haven't fed those in awhile. Maybe I'll try to find lamb or something!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Caty M said:


> My dogs are smaller than yours LOL. They don't get any necks other than turkey necks and I haven't fed those in awhile. Maybe I'll try to find lamb or something!


my pug is only 22 pounds and the corgi mix is 38 lbs....not so big.

they don't eat the neck, other than gnawing or scraping a little bone off the sides, but trying to get into the nooks and crannies of a whole neck is 

a. a riot to watch
b. it seems to clean their teeth.

my pug and corgi don't get racks of beef ribs. they get one each....and they don't eat the bone. it's the only beef bone i give them.

lamb bone is a little more forgiving than beef, as is goat.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Tess is 10lb and Bishop is 18.. though from what I can see my dogs eat more than yours, I guess. 

Can they not eat pork necks? Can they eat pork ribs? Tess/Bishop can eat the pork ribs, but only Tess can eat beef ribs.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Caty M said:


> Tess is 10lb and Bishop is 18.. though from what I can see my dogs eat more than yours, I guess.
> 
> Can they not eat pork necks? Can they eat pork ribs? Tess/Bishop can eat the pork ribs, but only Tess can eat beef ribs.


when i feed a whole neck, no matter what the animal is....i don't necessarily care if they can eat the bone....or ingest it. that's the point.

i feed beef ribs, so they have to work their mouths and teeth....i feed necks, whole necks of smaller animals, so they don't run into the same problem they might eating a harder bone....and possibly break a tooth.

neither dog can actually eat a beef rib, other than gnaw off the ends. and malia has a nice set of choppers...very strong.

when i want them to eat edible bone, sure, i feed pork ribs, duck necks.....lamb bone, goat bone...and i don't remember what else...

but softer bone necks, to me, are for exercise, mental play, and teeth work....cows, other than ribs....i tend to shy away from most of the bones in them.


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## AveryandAudrey (Sep 20, 2010)

No, my girls dont have any. I'd suggest some thicker bones. Not weight baring but maybe like turkey bone as opposed to chicken. I feed turkey bones and deer ribs, pork neck. These seem to work great for my girls.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

magicre said:


> my pug and corgi don't get racks of beef ribs. they get one each....and they don't eat the bone. it's the only beef bone i give them.


That's what I do with Snorkels and it works great, especially since she only has four teeth.

Rebel will do almost anything to avoid using his front teeth. And yes, they have tartar on them. 

So I have this giant hogshead and am thawing it a little now so I can let them have at it later this afternoon. I'll see if he can chew THAT with his back teeth!

Oh, I found Snorkels really gnaws with a chicken head also. But with a neck, she basically just gums and swallows.


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## DeekenDog (Aug 29, 2011)

Deeks used to on his molars but like people have suggested, I solved it by adding more complicated meals to his rotation. I find ribs work really well for him. I get moose and venison ribs and will give him 2 or 3 attached. Breaking them apart seems to do the trick.

p.s. I love your new siggy!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

xellil said:


> That's what I do with Snorkels and it works great, especially since she only has four teeth.
> 
> Rebel will do almost anything to avoid using his front teeth. And yes, they have tartar on them.
> 
> ...


that's why i like both beef ribs for front teeth and whole necks for all of the teeth. we don't have big dogs...and pugs, especially with their wide mouths and funky bites....need to use every tooth. 

i feed duck necks for edible bone or pork ribs for edible bones...there are some lamb and goat bones they fully digest....but i don't want them breaking teeth on necks or heads or whatever...i want each tooth to get worked....plus they're out of my hair for a while LOL

i also love the new siggy....


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

I'm going to bring this one back to life, i just noticed, Tobi has build up on his carnasials, just like in Caty's picture, i'm astonished and angry that i hadn't caught it before... I was thinking getting a scaler to pull some of it off if he will allow, but we have a hard time finding ribs around here, let along actually getting him to chew on anything, pigs feet maybe... i suppose i will keep an eye on it to make sure it starts to go away -_-


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## Losech (Jul 10, 2012)

Yeah, Conker does. A little on one of his carnassials. I've got a scaler that I sometimes use on all three dogs, but for the Girls a turkey neck usually does the job. Conker, not so much, since he doesn't chew on that one particular side very often.
In general though, their teeth still look pretty good. I just need to do a bit of occasional maintenance.


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## monster'sdad (Jul 29, 2012)

I use the thin non-abrasive Scotch Brite pads cut into strips with enzyme tooth paste. That cleans it right up. 

The ridge in that tooth is a pain to keep clean but that tooth doesn't look that bad and the gum looks ok.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Tartar buildup can also be due to the dog's bite. Sometimes if their jaw isn't aligned well then their natural bite will promote tartar buildup. Which there's not much you can do. 

If you can scale it off, make absolutely sure you're also able to polish the tooth well. Polishing will make tartar buildup much better. Scaling alone will actually make the problem worse and cause tartar to build faster.


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## DeekenDog (Aug 29, 2011)

I have to revise my response. Deeken does get buildup on his carnassials now but its because they are both broken (they've been looked at, we're leaving them alone). On one tooth he just took a very fine surface off- just enough to allow it to collect plaque. The only thing that seems to work is brushing them but complicated bones did work when they were still whole. When brushing them, I use the rubber finger brushes and I do them every evening.

Don't scale unless you can polish! Scaling actually makes tartar collect faster if they aren't polished afterward...


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## meggels (May 30, 2010)

How do you polish??? I was going to scale a few of Abbie's teeth that have some build up


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Tobi said:


> I'm going to bring this one back to life, i just noticed, Tobi has build up on his carnasials, just like in Caty's picture, i'm astonished and angry that i hadn't caught it before... I was thinking getting a scaler to pull some of it off if he will allow, but we have a hard time finding ribs around here, let along actually getting him to chew on anything, pigs feet maybe... i suppose i will keep an eye on it to make sure it starts to go away -_-


tobi, you feed complicated bones to tobi, don't you?

i have found the whole lamb necks, or lengthwise cut pork necks, and most recently bison necks really keep their teeth clean, from the old lady down to the puppy....

i am especially pleased with the pug who needs braces.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

Mostly edible bone but not chewing gnawing bone because we don't have much access to it, we can't find necks bigger than turkey which he gets often. We can get pig feet but last time he let them go to waste and Wouldn't chew on them long. I've checked over all his teeth his teeth are fine no breaks or cracks or anything I think he is just a brat...

I suppose worst case scenario is he goes in for a dental so it doesn't get too bad...


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## shellbell (Sep 24, 2011)

Are you guys sure it is build-up and not just some staining of the teeth? Tux has a bit of teeth staining on his back teeth which could easily be confused as tartar.


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

shellbell said:


> Are you guys sure it is build-up and not just some staining of the teeth? Tux has a bit of teeth staining on his back teeth which could easily be confused as tartar.


Well, it's brownish colored, I don't have nails so I can't readily pick at it, when he wakes up ill have my wife pick at it and see what it feels like.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

bubba's teeth were as you describe until i gave him bones to gnaw on. 

but if you don't have access...you don't have access. so maybe the scaler and polishing would do.

i'd hate to see him go in for a dental, simply because of the anaesthesia.

do you still get stuff from that slaughterhouse? and do they only slaughter cows? 

is there possibly a sheep or goat or llama or alpaca farm near you?


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## Tobi (Mar 18, 2011)

magicre said:


> bubba's teeth were as you describe until i gave him bones to gnaw on.
> 
> but if you don't have access...you don't have access. so maybe the scaler and polishing would do.
> 
> ...


Yea mostly cows sometimes pork, I can call them and see if they have pork necks... There is hope I suppose...


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

if you can get pork necks, you're golden. 

if he's not a power eater like my collie is, mr. jaws of steel, then you can also give beef necks....and slabs of beef ribs, if you can get them.


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## AkCrimson (Aug 26, 2011)

My 1.5 y/o Yorkie has been on raw since he was 12 weeks and he has perfect teeth. To be honest he probably gets more RMB than he should because meat here is SO expensive. So a lot of the time we buy whole chicken and keep the breast for us, or cut the bone out of our pork chops for their dinner. 

My Papillion is just over a year and he has some tartar buildup. He has had funky breath since the day I got him. I got him at 9 months and he's due for a checkup soon so we will see what's up with that. His teeth have definitely improved since I started giving him raw and I give lots of complicated bones. He's a beast though, he's only 7lbs but chews through an entire pork rib or turkey neck like it's no big deal. (I keep an eye on him with the bigger stuff)


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## Dude and Bucks Mamma (May 14, 2011)

Buck's canines tend to develop some but one good bony meal typically takes care of that. Iorveth does really well on turkey and pork (haven't gotten to beef yet) and we strip down a whole turkey for him. We remove the wings, legs (and I remove the bone from the legs), thighs, breasts, etc and it leaves a nice meaty carcass. I use those for all three of them. Buck can eat a whole one as one meal, Dude gets them in two meals and Iorveth gets them in several meals (he still eats multiple times per day). The carcass seems to work wonders for teeth.

I also like necks as well but they are harder to find for us. Maybe after we move.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

meggels said:


> How do you polish??? I was going to scale a few of Abbie's teeth that have some build up


You can buy dental polish paste. Get a piece of dry gauze and take a small amount of the paste and rub it on the tooth well, until it appears shiny (30 seconds or a minute). Then rinse. Don't polish too much or too hard or again you'll do damage.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

AkCrimson said:


> My 1.5 y/o Yorkie has been on raw since he was 12 weeks and he has perfect teeth. To be honest he probably gets more RMB than he should because meat here is SO expensive. So a lot of the time we buy whole chicken and keep the breast for us, or cut the bone out of our pork chops for their dinner.
> 
> My Papillion is just over a year and he has some tartar buildup. He has had funky breath since the day I got him. I got him at 9 months and he's due for a checkup soon so we will see what's up with that. His teeth have definitely improved since I started giving him raw and I give lots of complicated bones. He's a beast though, he's only 7lbs but chews through an entire pork rib or turkey neck like it's no big deal. (I keep an eye on him with the bigger stuff)


for my smaller dogs, the pork necks and lamb necks are not really edible bone. the collie, on the other hand, just powers through them.

when I give them complicated gnawing bones, it's bone I don't want them to necessarily eat, but they'll twist themselves upside down, using every tooth.....I don't give beef bones because they are too hard/dense and I don't want broken teeth.

lamb necks, goat necks, pork necks...those are all wonderful for my smaller dogs, because they can eat turkey necks and pork ribs and I don't know that they get the same benefits.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

Sprocket gets a bit of build up on his canines from time to time. We just give him a huge rec bone so he has to use them. Problem solved


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