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While February shines a spotlight on pet dental health, it's essential to understand that oral care is not a one-month affair. Dental health should be prioritized every day! Perhaps the best way to celebrate Pet Dental Health Month is by making the right choices to ensure our pets have bright & healthy smiles today, tomorrow and always.
After scaling and polishing a tooth, a glycoprotein layer called pellicle forms rapidly in saliva, serving as a substrate for plaque-forming bacteria. Within 24 hours, a thin layer of plaque covers the entire tooth, except where removed by natural dietary abrasion. Bacterial proliferation creates a rough surface for more bacteria to adhere. As plaque thickens and extends into the subgingival sulcus, anaerobic bacteria proliferate due to depleted oxygen. Within 48 hours, calculus may form as calcium from saliva deposits into plaque, exacerbating plaque accumulation and gingival tissue irritation. Persistent supragingival and subgingival plaque can lead to gingivitis and trigger host immune responses.
Yes, you read it right. It can be within 48 hours contrary to many of us believing that it’s a gradual process taking months and years.
This leads us to the moot question of how we, as caregivers to our pets, can ensure the optimal dental and oral health of our furry companions. Dental chews have been proven to be an easy and highly accepted method for the removal of plaque accumulation. However, in a market flooded with numerous companies making benefit claims, pet parents face the complex challenge of making the right choice. To navigate this landscape effectively, it’s critical that pet parents and the trade (the responsible ones) understand the advantages and disadvantages of the current offerings.
Following are some options and their advantages and disadvantages.
Sold as all-natural, millions of these animal shaped plasticky items engineered with processed food ingredients like potato starch, gluten meals, wheat, rice, pea flours, glycerin, glycols, and gelatin are hardly aligned with pet owners' expectations of what constitutes a truly natural and safe product. But given the fact of most of us confine ourselves only to the front of the packaging and not what’s written in the fine prints at the back, these products continue to flourish and have a become a segment of their own.
However, a little deep dive and lot of claims fall flat. How good is all natural when the calorie content is 3000 Kcals/kg but the nutritional contents are Protein 1%, Fat 0% and Carbohydrates 80% plus. Consider that these ‘extra’ calories (coming from carbohydrates) are on top of their “complete and balanced kibbles” (made by the same set of companies that manufacture these green animal objects). The composition in these is already skewed to 60% carbohydrates when it should ideally not exceed a maximum limit of 20% and that too from slower-digesting complex carbohydrates. Now we know why 80% of dogs are obese.
(For those who would like argue that dogs can digest carbohydrates, carbohydrates are good etc etc…yes they can but what we are discussing here is the quality and quantity of carbohydrate source: 20% vs 80% / High GI vs. slow release source/… and there’s no denying the fact that bacteria thrives on carbohydrates and sugars, and many of today’s leading kibble foods average 40% or more carbohydrates (sugars and starches).
It’s a “necessary evil” as the carbohydrate is a low-cost calorie (kcal of Metabolized Energy) and necessary to bind all ingredients together in the extrusion process when making the food. It makes you wonder why there are no requirements for pet food manufacturers to report either carbohydrate levels or sugar levels in their food. Your dog eats a lot of carbohydrates and has a minimal amount of salivary amylase (the enzyme that breaks down ingested carbs) so when food particles and remnants of the kibble stick to teeth (more so in smaller dogs’ mouths due to spacing issues), they aren’t broken down very efficiently enzymatically. This is repeated two times each day, for their entire life and on top of that we add a starch based dog dental chew which is akin to toothpaste made of sugar.
Typically derived from animal by-products such as rawhide, natural beef tendons, bully sticks and trachea etc are popular options for many pet owners. Some of these are naturally rich in collagen and cartilage that helps promote healthy teeth and bones in dogs and supports overall structural integrity. However, all the advantages are relegated to the backburner when one reads how they are processed with a heavy usage of chemicals in their cleaning and preservation. Some of these chemicals are known to introduce toxins into the product, posing risks to our dogs' health, including digestive issues, allergic reactions and long-term health consequences. Additionally, the use of such chemicals contradicts the natural and wholesome image associated with these pet chews.
There are 100s of articles highlighting these dangers and some credible and quick reads are:
Mostly are made using a slow drying process to create a chewy, ridged texture making them averagely good for dental health with a chew-ability that dogs love. Popular ones are made with Sweet Potato or Papaya or a combination of different fruits and vegetables that have a gentle abrasive nature helping to keep the teeth clean. However, whilst they are significantly better and honest when it comes to their all natural, grain-free claims, their mechanical action benefits of cleaning the plaque and tartar off teeth are largely limited to the molars. Given that an active chewer can devour these strips in just a couple of minutes the mechanical action is not prolonged enough to remove plaque. Providing 30 mins (optimal) chewing time through these type of chews leads to overfeeding them on sweet fruits and bringing the common complaint to the forefront that pet obesity is not just from overfeeding, but over treating. Another limitation of these chews is the option of only one size for dogs of all sizes and ages. Choosing a chew that is proportionate to your pet’s size is key and pet guardians are limited by the options available.
All-natural, grain-free, rich in protein (average 55%-60%), stain & odour free are irrefutable claims. However what is critical to know is that despite some similarities not all Cheese Chews are the same. The ones “inspired by the Himalayas” but being made in the farmlands of Europe are not as long-lasting as the ones being made in the Himalayan belt and the Himalayan belt is too vast to assume that quality and quality controls across are the same.
The term "Himalayas" alone doesn't guarantee uniform quality standards across products. The geographical region of the Himalayas spans a few countries, each with its own unique environmental conditions, sourcing practices, and manufacturing standards. Even within a specific region, there can be variations in the quality of ingredients used, the manufacturing processes employed and the overall quality control measures implemented.
Both pet parents and the trade should be discerning when choosing products labelled with terms like "Himalayan-inspired" or "Made in Himalayas." It is essential to look beyond just the marketing language and delve into the specifics of sourcing, production and quality assurance protocols. This ensures that the product meets the desired standards of quality, safety and efficacy.
When it comes to this range Pawfect stands tall at the head of the pack; a trusted architect of timeless Himalayan cheese dental bars and the one pioneering the relevant innovation in this segment.
Clearly no product segment can afford to stand still, so in today’s healthier living climate there is a growing clamour for hard-working products with added functional benefits which has resulted in Pawfect once again turning to nature to orchestrate its pioneering, 3-strong Dentamust portfolio.
Carefully selected infusions of trusted, human-grade superfoods means that we’re creating longer lasting, harder working dental bars that are being tasked not simply with cleaning teeth, freshening breath and safeguarding healthy gums, but tackling oral bacteria head on whilst taking plague & tartar to task. Each grain-free, Dentamust treat is brimming with beneficial vitamins, minerals and antioxidants while also being a go-to source of protein and good fats.
As we inch towards the end of Pet Dental Month, let us not forget that periodontal disease is the pre-eminent medical condition facing dogs and cats today. For all the positive noise surrounding tackling good gut health, the simple truth is that a healthy mouth paves the way for a healthy gut and body. Proper dental care is essential for a dog's health, and it is the responsibility of pet parents to ensure their dog's teeth are kept clean and that responsibility starts with making the right choice.