Pet Forum / Miscellaneous / Animal Health / April 2005

Expecting any food to be a substitute for dental care is being extremely
unrealistic.
Do you substitute brushing your own teeth with eating corn nuts or
pretzels? Of course not. In my own experience of feeding 25 cats a
canned diet long-term, I have seen very little in the way of dental
issues and the vast majority that have cropped up have been related to
cats testing positive for Bartonella, a disease transmitted by flea
bites which is an underlying cause of dental issues. If you have cats
with an unknown history, as I do, and have no way to determine if they
have had exposure to fleas during their lifetimes it is wise to have
them tested for it if you see symptoms such as gingivitis and other
inflammatory problems. You can read more here:
http://www.knowlesanimalclinics.com/miami/bartonella_and_cats.html

I do brush my cats teeth as much as I can, although I can't do it to the
extent someone with just a few cats can. Each cat has their own
toothbrush (I write their name on the handle with permanent marker and
color code the brushes using nail polish) which can be seen here:
http://www.fuzzytummy.com/cet--cat-toothbrush-.htm

Between brushing and feeding a canned diet here is no tarter build up
and even my older cats (9-15 years old) teeth are in good shape.

From a Dr. Shawn Messonnier, DVM column:

Dear Dr. Shawn:

"I would like you to address the issue of diet and dental disease. I
only feed my cat K.T. canned cat food. She loves it and will have
nothing to do with dry food. Plus, I think the canned food is better for
her. Several of my pet-owning friends say that I'm doing harm to her,
that the canned food will make her teeth worse. They say she needs dry
food to help prevent bad teeth. I disagree with them. What is the
truth?"

Answer:
"Many veterinarians, including myself, were taught that dry food was
better for the teeth due to the abrasive action of the pellets against
the teeth. However, clinical experience over the last few years have
shown this to simply be a myth. For example, just about every pet needs
its teeth cleaned at least once a year, yet most of these pets are
eating dry food. Obviously the dry food is not preventing dental
disease. I see no difference in my own practice in the amount of dental
disease regardless of type of diet.

Several references I consulted on diet and dental disease agree. For
example, in Small Animal Clinical Nutrition, the authors state,
"Although consumption of soft foods may promote plaque accumulation, the
general belief that dry foods provide significant oral cleansing should
be regarded with skepticism. A moist food may perform similarly to a
typical dry food in affecting plaque, stain and calculus
accumulation.Typical dry dog and cat foods contribute little dental
cleansing." In the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry (1996
Sept;13(3):101-105,) the author states that "In a large survey, dogs
consuming dry food alone did not consistently demonstrate improved
periodontal health when compared with dogs eating moist foods."
Interestingly, my clients who feed their pets raw foods plus meaty bones
for chewing report the least amount of dental disease, many of these
pets do not always require an annual dental cleaning.

And finally, the speed with which dental disease occurs seems to be
breed or size related in dogs: most large breed dogs do not need their
teeth cleaned as often as their smaller counterparts. New
recommendations on feeding cats encourage wet food to increase water
consumption and decrease the chance of diseases such as diabetes, as
canned food most closely mimics the natural diet of cats. The best thing
you can do to control dental disease is to regularly brush your pet's
teeth, and have a professional cleaning whenever needed. So tell your
friends that they can feed whatever kind of food they wish, but that
your cat is eating the most appropriate diet."

Megan

                                   

I use Hill's t/d for my cats.  One cat gets it mixed with c/d as his usual
food.  The other is on a diet so she gets t/d at treats.  Her teeth aren't
as clean as my boys.  It just prevents anymore from building up.  She's
about 7 or 8 years old.  My boy is 4 years old and there isn't a speck on
his teeth - they're prefect!

Seriously?? My cats eat that stuff like it's crack! Their vet recommended it
as well and I've had no problems with bag size. I have five cats and I buy a
10 pound bag of Nutro Max and the 6 pound bag of Dental Diet, mix the two,
and it lasts about three-four weeks.

Someone else suggested Hills t/d.. You probably won't find it in a store, I
believe it's a prescription diet.. and usually much more expensive that
other diets.

Would prefer a

Visit the Veterinary Oral Health Council website - it will list all
foods which have thus far received their endorsement for either plaque,
tartar or both. VOHC is a veterinary organization composed of boarded
veterinary dentists who have strict rules and regulations regarding the
use of claims. They list the protcols that a food must go through to
meet their specs.

http://www.vohc.org/index.htm