Lurcher teeth - at a loss!

[GinFling]

We have a 13-year-old rescue lurcher, who has manky teeth She had 12 removed at the start of the year, but they’re going downhill fast again, and I’m at an absolute loss as to what to do. She has tooth powder in her food, liquid cleaner in her water, and we brush them as often as we can (probably 4-5 times a week). The vet said unfortunately her breed is prone to bad teeth, and given she is an older dog it’s not a surprise. But I am really loathe to put her through another big procedure with a GA, and also the cost is enormous. I’d really appreciate any suggestions to improve them!

[BigSpringy]

Manky as in gum disease?

Have you tried switching the toothpaste from (I assume) an enzyme based one to a chlorhexidine based one, such as dentisept or petdent? I doubt it would be a miracle cure but would help keep bacterial load in the mouth and gums down. Both can be bought from Amazon and other online sites.

Unfortunately, I think dental condition is mostly genetic. I've seen many dogs with diligent owners develop gum disease (even bone chewers) and many with laid back owners who have pearly whites to their old age.

Some swear by raw feeding as a way to help - but this is obvously a bigger decision than just dental health.

Otherwise, veterinary teeth cleaning/removal is the next step.

[moosemama]

My old Lurcher boy, who will be 15 in a couple of months, has always has the worst teeth of any dog we’ve had. Our other Lurcher didn’t seem to have the same issues, despite the same dental routine and diet.

He has Plaque Off with his meals and we use Dentisept as well to reduce the build up and control the bacteria. His gums bleed easily, so I use the microfibre finger brushes, rather than a toothbrush.

About once a month, sometimes more, depending on how his teeth are, I give his teeth a gentle scrape with a dental scraper (I bought mine via Amazon). You can only do it gently though, as you don’t want to scrape the enamel itself, but it breaks up the deposits, which then come off more easily with brushing. If you give them a scrape, then a thorough clean and polish with a microfibre brush, followed by applying Dentisept it really makes a difference.

If she gets thick calculus, you can actually get that off by levering the edge and giving it a strong flick, revealing lovely pearly whites underneath. My vet showed me how to do it, but it’s basically just a case of levering/flicking it off - you just need to be find an edge to start at.

Of course that all relies on them being compliant. My boy is resigned to it after all these years and just lies with his head in my lap while I do it, but I know some dogs would really object.

[Sunnydayshereatlast]

Without a pic I doubt you even have a gorgeous lurcher op...