I'm hoping it is not too late to start over. My 3 year-old GSD's canines are wearing down A LOT and his molars are filthy. Fortunately, his gums still look healthy, but if I don't take drastic action now he will have serious problems. I think the mistakes I've made are feeding him kibble and playing fetch with a tennis ball. Yet, I know GSDs that do both and their canines are still pointed, not flat like my dogs.

The Vet recommended a professional cleaning, then daily tooth brushing. As for the canines, he asked if the dog chews on rocks, my answer was, no. He did not address them further. Obviously, my dog is not used to me messing with his teeth; we are now working on that.

I am surprised I haven't found any dental health/maintenance references in the archives.

Please share your expertise. We need help!
THANK YOU.

I agree with your vet.

There are many threads about not using tennis balls, about the anesthesia protocol to insist on for the dental, and about daily (or even weekly .... anything is better than nothing) home care.

As for the not messing in his mouth, this is crucial, and I'm happy to read that you are working on it. For me, I start with one tooth and call it a day, and I reward and praise heavily. If he's extremely uncomfortable, start with two seconds on one tooth, and have dog (it's meat flavored) toothpaste on your finger.

What else does he do besides a lot of tennis-ball chewing? (You're going to find in threads and on the main site here that Ed, the owner, believes that the adhesive used on tennis ball fuzz is bad for the dog's tooth enamel. I happen to agree. I use tennis balls only in the pool, where the ball is soaked and the teeth are constantly washed.) But it sounds like your dog is doing something else too, unless he has a habit of lying down and chewing hard on his tennis ball for hours?

It also sounds as if your dog may be one who produces less saliva than some and therefore "washes" his teeth less.

I've known and even owned dogs who needed regular anesthetized dental cleaning (and the occasional extraction) even with all of them on full raw diets. So while I absolutely see much better teeth on raw-fed dogs, it's no guarantee. And if you're thinking of the benefits of recreational bones (as opposed to RMBs, the basis of the raw diet), that doesn't sound like a good thing for your dog. http://leerburg.com/feedingarawdiet.htm#recreational

All JMO! Good for you for addressing this. Too many dogs suffer constantly with dental pain and infection.


I think that others will join the thread with their experiences as well as the balls they choose over tennis balls for their dogs.

Petzlife is the brand of tooth goo I use. It comes in a salmon flavor mine like. The product claims you don't even need to brush, you just smear it on the teeth. But I use a brush anyway. The physical brushing helps remove plaque and stimulates gums.

The amount of crap that collects on teeth seems to be very individual. All mine eat the same diet and chew on the same Nylabone toys. But one (the Leo) still gets enough tarter on her teeth that she needed a professional cleaning at age 3. The 7 year old GSD doesn't have any tartar. So go figure.

Tracy, do you use the little fits-over-your-finger brushy thing so you don't have to stick a handle in?

The only time I've ever brushed a dog's teeth were because her breath was horrible from eating fish and the minty smell was much better than gagging on a 10+ hour car ride.

As for dentals, I've had a foster dog that had severe issues and I gave her a raw bone. A week later her teeth were perfectly clean and the vet just prescribed antibiotics for the gum inflammation. $40 for clean teeth without the need to heavily sedate your dog? I'd try that first.

I've also heard that certain aquatic plants (seaweed, kelp, something like that) ingested will reduce the amount of plaque on teeth.

The brush I use has a handle. But it has three brush heads arranged in such away that you cover all sides of the tooth in one swipe.

Thank you Connie, Tracy and Samantha, I appreciate your input. You have helped me see the common sense I missed. Even though I grew up with dogs, this is MY first dog and I'm no young one.

Judging by the accumulation of food and the wearing of his teeth, it looks like he is a dog that needs diligent dental care and hygiene.

I tried to introduce tooth brushing when I got this dog at 6 months. I gave up too soon. Now, he is 3 years; I'm starting over. He is allowing me to briefly run my fingers over his teeth and gums and today I was able to wipe a couple of molars with gauze. I’m confident we can eventually advance to brushing. I will definitely try the Petzlife tooth goo.

Chewing on chicken quarters has cleaned the teeth to some extent. It looks like a professional cleaning will be necessary, but hopefully with proper maintenance we can limit that necessity in the future.

Last night, I finally found a thread about the wear on canine teeth, another concern. I was afraid my dog may need crowns and learned they run almost $2,000 each! Anyway, his teeth look similar to others, which eases my concern. Again, lacking common sense, I hadn’t considered how much grit was accumulating on the tennis balls I was having him fetch. Without realizing it, I had created a scenario for him to chew on sand daily. NO MORE!

Thank you again for helping me put this into perspective.

I would get the rubber chuck it ball its called the Ultra ball no abrasive cover like a tennis balls or glue issues.

But sand & dirt will still stick so grass field is the way to go.

Your dog looks close to 5ft tall?

I brush my dog's teeth (past dogs too) every night. I use an enzymatic toothpaste (currently petzyme??)for dogs in a poultry flavor and they have all loved it. Luckily, we have never had any dental issues with any of them and no bad breath. They never had a professional cleaning. However, I don't think that most owners do it, because every time the Vet checks them she says, "Oh, yeah you're the one that brushes their teeth".

Regarding the tennis balls, I do not use tennis balls because of their reputation for damaging teeth. When we are playing ball in an area that is dusty, I bring a towel and wipe the dirt off regularly. And, there is water available and consumption encouraged to help rinse any grit off.

I have fed both raw and kibble to various dogs, but with the brushing I personally haven't noted a dramatic difference. Recreational bones are not something that I use in adult dogs because of the possibility of a cracked tooth.

I introduce brushing by putting a little of the flavored toothpaste on my finger and letting them lick it off. After doing that for several days, I will touch a tooth with that "flavored" finger. Then, gradually increase the number of teeth that are touched (and later rubbed). Later, a finger tip covering brush is placed over the "flavored" finger, and gradually this progresses to an actual tooth brushing. I sometimes move to a full sized brush with a handle, but often they enjoy it so much I can spend as mush time as I want cleaning their teeth with the small one. I always try to make this a fun, relaxing one on one time. However, all of this depends on the particular dog, and if they are really difficult about having anything done around their mouth, you need to be extremely patient and use marker training to over come this particular problem before you try brushing their teeth.

Thank you Joe. We are switching to rubber balls.

Grass? We used to have a grass covered backyard. This dogs feet are so big and heavy, the grass was destroyed with routine play!