Do Dental Pet Foods Work?

Dental work is expensive and our pets seem to need increasingly more of it. One reason is that we’re breeding smaller and smaller pets. While the overall size of the jaw can be decreased within a few generations, it takes centuries for teeth to also get smaller. Thus, as a result of breeding, there are many small breeds with little mouths over-full with teeth. The tooth-crowded mouth has handy crevices for plaque to take hold and set up environment that causes bad breath, and gum disease.

Some dog food companies have produced “dental” foods with large, fibrous kibble meant to wear the plaque off. The problem is that many dogs do not chew their food—they bolt it. Thus dog teeth have minimal contact with abrasive dental kibble. The esophagus, on the other hand, has contact with everything that is swallowed, including all abrasive food.

The second problem of dental foods is that while fibrous material may abrade the tooth’s biting surface, the problem areas are the gingival margins, the narrow spaces between the teeth and gums. The gingival margin is where bacteria solidify into plaque and cause gum and tooth disease. Dental kibble doesn’t clean the gingival margin. A toothbrush, on the other hand, removes plaque from the gingival margin.

Brushing is the single best method of helping your pet’s teeth, but there are other ways to help keep your pet’s mouth healthy. Research from Correl and Rawlings indicates that dental chews are at least as helpful as “dental” foods. Consider giving your pet raw beef knuckle bones to help to reduce plaque.