How often do you brush your dog's teeth?

[LinaCavalieri]

I have a 3-year-old toy poodle and I've just started trying to get her used to having her teeth brushed (I know I should have started when she was a puppy!) She does have 'teeth cleaning' chews a few times a week and gets them professionally cleaned at the groomer but that's only once per month. They are in pretty good condition but I know that toy poodles can have issues with their teeth if not cared for – and I don't want her to end up having to get teeth removed when she's older if it can be avoided.

She doesn't like it at the moment, so I'm trying to do just a few teeth at a time and get her used to it. How long did it take to get your dog used to brushing their teeth if they are a bit older? Any tips? How long do you brush their teeth for? And how often? The internet seems to vary from twice daily to three times a week.

Thank you!

I have never ever brushed my dogs teeth and I think this is the sort of thing my dad would laugh his arse off about

I give her dental sticks when I remember and we use natural chews. She, and her teeth, are fine

Never.
Dental sticks, natural chews and occasional carrots.
Our dog is 5 with perfect teeth.

It's not something that we ever did with our dogs when I was growing up (and yes, my parents would think it's absolutely ridiculous!!). I think it is a bit of a toy poodle thing that they can develop really bad teeth and have to have them removed when they are older though. The past two vets we've been to have both said that teeth brushing should be a part of the routine for a toy poodle (I was sceptical at first as I thought they were just trying to sell me toothpaste etc but they just recommended one to get from Amazon..) I've also met a few older toy poodles lately that have had to have teeth removed so I am now thinking we should try it out... despite how ridiculous I feel brushing my dog's teeth!

Twice a week with the current dog (dentastick type things in between). My older dog would rarely tolerate it and she did have to have a couple of teeth removed in the last year of her life, so I'm being super-cautious now.

Thanks! I did think that twice daily sounded like overkill

Mine's quite a small 4kg pup so I'm also trying to be cautious as I don't want to end up in a situation where she's older and tiny needing unnecessary anaesthesia / ops.

We have a greyhound with terrible teeth. Had to have 14 removed in the last year. He hates having his teeth cleaned. It's not as often as I should and never fun.

poor pup it's so hard when they just don't want to get their teeth cleaned though so I completely sympathise! I'm managing about 10 seconds with a toothbrush on mine before she decides she's not having any more of it.... hoping we can keep working on it and keep her teeth in!

Never in decades of dog ownership! The terrier had a tooth fall out, but that was due to him being a terrier and destroying a garden fence to try and get to next doors dog with whom there was a mutual love/hate relationship. Next doors dog has sadly died so that issue has resolved itself!

To be fair, I think it is widely recommended to do them daily, but my vet said as long as I do it a couple of times a week and use dentastix it should be fine I also use something called PlaqueOff. It's a powder and I just put a small scoop into the kibble every day.

I’ve never brushed teeth. I give natural chews. Virtually all clean teeth. My last dog had perfect teeth until her death at 17. Just one that broke when she was very elderly.

I feed rabbit eats, tripe sticks, rabbit feet, chicken feet etc every other day. Fish skin cubes are also very good. She tends to have one of those things every day depending on a variety of factors. I adjust meals to compensate.

Daily. Mainly because I wanted to get both dogs used to having their teeth/mouths looked at from a young age.

@WYorkshireRose same, and it payed off when she broke a tooth, she was perfectly calm while the vet looked over her tooth. Required a root canal and we payed extra to have a crown fitted (insurance covered the root canal because it was a necessary procedure, but wouldn’t cover the crown as necessary because she was “over two years old”. She had turned two literally 10 days before she broke the tooth 🤷🏻‍♀️ root canals are up to 94% effective, adding the crown brings it up to 98%)
She still has her teeth brushed every day partly because we need to make sure there’s nothing stuck under the crown, and partly to make sure she doesn’t become mouth-shy considering.

Never. He gets a dental chew every evening before bed and Plaque Off in his food.

My dog is also a small breed and I clean her teeth every evening, usually before we go to bed, with Logic, which she loves for it's flavour.

She isn't mad on the brushing but it's supposed to work even if you just get it on the teeth.

She has a small amount of carrot every day as well. Don't know if that helps.

She's 12 years old and has only ever had to have two of her pre molars removed.

It's really not necessary to do it twice a day.

@Jenzine awww look at that face! And those lovely clean teeth!

I think I'm going to aim for daily brushing and just work up to it with a few seconds here and there when she's relaxed to get her used to it. She's really good at being handled generally (eardrops, eyedrops, groomer etc) so I think she will be fine after a few tries!

Hopefully between brushing and chews (plus a monthly brush as the groomers) she'll have lovely healthy teeth into her old age!

Once or twice many years ago. I value my fingers too much.

Over the years he's had some kind of drips in his water, refused to drink it, dental chews which were pretty much swallowed whole, antler chews and all sorts. He's 14 now and did have to have a tooth removed but the best of them are ok.

In an ideal world I would brush them but he's a determined terrier with other opinions!

Never my 5 are fed raw and regularly eat bones so no plaque

Mine is also raw fed and does get bones and natural chews (tracheas, tendons, various skins... honestly it looks like an abattoir around here sometimes!) but she still does have a bit of plaque build up around the top of her teeth, which I'd prefer to get rid of. I think the issue is that she's not a real "chewer" so she doesn't demolish chews – they last her for weeks (she also never destroys stuffed toys, even though she loves playing with them so I think that's just her style!).

Never, and don’t use dental chews either.

Vet nurse commented how white is teeth were.

I didn't clean my dogs, and she had to have quite a few teeth out which I feel terrible about! Her breath was appalling too. Now she has them done every 6 weeks when she goes to the groomer which keeps them in good condition!

Never. He has dried chicken feet daily and raw carrots once a week which help to keep his teeth in good condition. I may look into the plaque-off.

I don’t use ‘dental chews’ as they upset his stomach. Vet said that the feet and carrots do the same job (manually remove the plaque and generate saliva for the enzymatic action).

Some breeds have lovely teeth without tooth brushing, but this is good luck and genes.

Poodles are notorious for having awful teeth so daily tooth brushing would be ideal here.

(Vet)

10 year old dog. Groomer does them every 6 weeks with his own electric toothbrush (presumably dog sized).
I try to do them once a week at home with good quality dog toothpaste and my finger because brushes are too big for his mouth/i find them difficult to use.
He had two teeth out last year after having an absess (poor wee thing).
He has rawhide shoe chews each day but refuses all dental chews and always has.
He eats kibble a few times a week which I think helps his teeth.

My vet told me unless you brush their teeth every day it’s pointless, not sure how true that is, I used to put a dog dental gel on my dogs teeth, a bit on each side of the gum and my dog did the rest licking it around her teeth.

Never. Our 9 year old dog was at the vet recently. He said she has a little dental decay but nothing to worry about. She has a dentastick most days.