As I wandered the floor of one of the largest pet industry trade shows, a veterinarian from one of the booths caught my attention and showed me a new dog toothbrush design. I explained that I was attending the trade show as “media”, not as a buyer like most attendees, and that I don’t brush my dog’s teeth.
She looked at me in horror and the look on her face did not improve when I started to explain the “system”I use to clean my dog’s teeth. Her disbelief turned to a legit scowl when I started to explain that I believe my method is just as effective as the technique most real-world pet owners brush their dog’s teeth. I stopped, thanked her for showing me the toothbrush, and quickly moved on.
This wasn’t the first time my explanation of a realistic alternative to brushing for Dachshund owners was met with contempt. This is a soapbox I’ve teetered on for years.
Let’s take a closer look at how brushing became the “gold standard” recommendation, why brushing often fails, and an alternative that may clean teeth just as well without brushing.
Note: I am not a veterinarian. I’m just a geeky Dachshund owner who thrives on doing deep research into how to care for them and has a lot of experience with the breed. Always consult with your vet if you have any questions related to your dog’s health.
How Brushing Became the “Gold Standard” Recommendation
Brushing became the top recommendation for maintaining your dog’s dental health at home in the late 20th century because it is the most direct, controllable way to disrupt plaque before it mineralizes into tartar.
As with most things in the pet world, the concept was adapted from human (dentistry) practices. When veterinary dentistry was becoming formalized as a specialty, brushing was the simplest mechanical plaque control method that could be tested, standardized, and recommended.
Because brushing works for people, it must work for dogs too, right? Well, maybe not. At least not as well in the real world.
How Brushing Fails for Dogs
Just because brushing a dog’s teeth is the #1 recommendation to help keep your dog’s teeth clean doesn’t mean it’s realistic or effective. This recommendation doesn’t take into the account the realities of an owner’s ability to thoroughly brush their dog’s teeth daily.
Most studies that support brushing effectiveness assume:
- Daily or near-daily brushing
- Cooperative dogs
- The ability to reach and brush teeth in the back of the mouth
I’ve seen a lot of people brush their dog’s teeth. In reality:
- Because their doxie doesn’t like it, they only brush a few times a week at best
- Most owners only brush the few front teeth they can see
- Back molars and premolars are often missed
- The inside surfaces of teeth are almost never brushed
Despite this, to be clear, research consistently shows that “scraping” can reduce plaque and gingivitis on the surfaces of teeth and even imperfect application of this mechanical action can help slow disease progression.
Vets still recommend brushing anyway because it’s better than doing nothing.
This is where I climb onto my soapbox again because the same arguments can be made for the alternate at home teeth cleaning method that I use.
How I Maintain my Dachshund’s Dental Health
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Because I wrote a detailed blog post about my method you can read here, I will only briefly describe how I keep my dog’s teeth clean without brushing.
Here are the steps:
- Sprinkle a dental powder on my dog’s food daily to help keep any plaque buildup soft ((PlaqueOff is my go-to but I’ve recently been making my own, which is essentially a combination of PlaqueOff (Ascophyllum nodosum kelp) and VetriScience Perio Dental Care Powder (zeolites))
- Give my dog’s natural chews 2-3 times a week that facilitate chewing action for at least 5 minutes at a time (read about my favorite natural chews here) to help scrape off the soft plaque
That’s it! No dread of fighting my dogs to stick something in their mouth they don’t want. No significant time commitment on my part. No guilt for not cleaning their teeth often enough because they thoroughly enjoy it.
Does Your Method Work?
The bottom line is: Yes, it works. However, there are fewer scientific studies documenting the effectiveness so my opinion is based on personal experience over almost 20 years and anecdotal evidence from others who also use this teeth cleaning method.
It’s very important to note that no teeth cleaning method, not even brushing, will overcome bad genes. Just like with people, some dogs are born destined to have bad teeth and nothing can be done about it.
These facts are true:
- Plaque starts as a soft biofilm
- If it stays soft, it is easier to remove mechanically
My method still has limitations, but they are similar to the real-world limitations of brushing.
Specifically, chewing action is also unlikely to contact both the inside and outside surface of every tooth each time.
There is some evidence that zeolite-based (aluminosilicate mineral) dental powders can bind ions, interfere with mineralization, alter plaque structure, reduce calculus accumulation, and slow plaque mineralization. (source1)
Kelp-based (Ascophyllum nodosum) dental supplements are better studied and evidence suggests positive changes in saliva composition , reduced plaque adhesion, and reduced calculus formation over time (source2 and source3).
PlaqueOff (mentioned above) has received the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) seal of acceptance for dental powders to add to food.
Logic tells us that if a dog chews on something abrasive, it has the ability to scrape stuff off the surface of the teeth where it makes contact (and I regularly observe my Dachshunds “sawing” the chew with their back teeth).
Also of note, saliva production is related to oral health. Increased saliva flow has protective qualities. Brushing does not stimulate saliva to the same degree that chewing on something for 5-10 minutes does.
Bottom line: I think the claim that brushing is better than nothing, applies to this method too. It provides mechanical scraping of plaque from teeth, it can help prevent gingivitis, and it can help slow the progression of dental disease, even if the method is imperfect.
Note: depending on my type and hardness of each chew, and the health of individual dogs, this method can post a risk of fractured teeth, obesity due to excess calories, GI issues, and triggering of thyroid issues (due to the iodine in the kelp if too much is used), so discuss any chews with your vet if you are concerned.
Final Thoughts
Small dogs are more prone to teeth problems because they have more teeth packed into smaller jaws and may accumulate plaque faster than larger dogs between their crowded teeth.
It’s important to do something to help maintain your dog’s dental health at home – whether that be brushing, my method, or something else proven to be effective – and get professional cleaning at the vet when needed for deep cleaning. The only way to check the health of tooth structure under the gumline is to get an x-ray under anesthesia.
I say if you want to brush your dog’s teeth, your dog at least tolerates it, and you are able to brush most teeth several times a week, go for it! In this article, I’m not suggesting brushing is not worth doing.
However, it’s true that in most real-world applications, brushing isn’t implemented as regularly and thoroughly as veterinarians hope.
Evidence shows that almost half of owners don’t brush their dog’s teeth anyway (source4).
Whine neither method – brushing or my chew method – can guarantee against any dental issues, doing either can help protect your dogs teeth from disease.
As an alternative to brushing, or doing nothing, I’m suggesting another method that may work as well. The “best” method is being evaluated under conditions that aren’t realistic for most pet homes to replicate.
