home dental care for cats

Status
Not open for further replies.
I may have contributed to prompting you to post this thread and for that I say THANK YOU
I will check it out and see if any can help my sweetie
 
As far as I've heard of what works best, I think it's just the plain 'ol (pet) toothbrush & toothpaste for them! Greenies would probably help, but with a diabetic, not sure that would be your best bet. You can try them, but I'd worry if the teeth are that bad, if it would hurt some problem teeth since they're so hard.
 
I wish that I would get my rear in gear and write my next webpage ("Dental Health").....

The love of my life, Robbie, has a crappy mouth. He needs ("needED"...past tense...) dentals every 6 months until I stopped being lazy and started brushing his teeth every night...or at least 5 times/week. I say "lazy" because he was compliant about it but I just was too lazy to do it. Now...not all cats will let you brush their teeth but Robbie will.

His last dental was Dec. 2009 and he would have had really bad teeth by now if I had not been brushing them since early January.

Even after Robbie's dentals, his breath would smell bad within a few days. But now....his breath is great and his teeth are still very clean.

I am kicking myself for not brushing his teeth sooner. He will be 10 in April and I should have started this when he was a baby. Live and learn....

One quick note....cats don't usually like it if you brush back and forth so I stick to ~8-10-12 swipes in the SAME direction. I first started with the uppers only. Then, after a few months, I decided to try the lowers and pretty much just do it by feel and sound. In other words, I am not rolling his lower lip down drastically. I am just gently moving the lower lip down a bit...just so I can get the brush inserted so that the bristles contact his lower molars....then I just listen and 'feel' for the bristles being in the right place up against the molars.

Of course, all we are doing is the OUTSIDE of the teeth but that is where most of the problems are.

The 'fuzz' on the teeth harden within 72 hours so teeth should be brushed daily or at least every other day.

The link that Jenny posted is the only brush to use. It is tiny with conical-shaped bristles....the best for small cat mouths.

See the video linked on my site under the Dental Health section on the main page or google "cornell toothbrush cats video".

Go slowly and be patient. When first starting to brush Robbie's teeth, I was happy with just a couple of swipes across the surface. Then I would give him a lick from the toothpaste which he liked so that served as his reward treat.
 
Dearest Dr. Lisa,

Is there a particular toothpaste cats, especially sugar cats, should use? Providing we get that special brush actually in their mouths...

I think a couple of swipes is a huge start! And Nikki could sure use them!

Much love and countless grateful hugs for who you are and what you've shared -- especially on Giz's behalf,
Deb and Nikki -- and Giz, forever in my heart, and smiling on you for your food amnesty....
 
A good approach to take is called "shaping". This is where you train in tiny steps. Once a step is mastered, you move to the next step.

Begin by describing in concrete measureable terms what your current situation is with your cat and doing dental care and your goal for your cat. This is the what, where, when, how long, how often, what tools, what treats, what people will be involved, analysis.

Then, think of many small steps that are in between these two points and are closer and closer approximations of the goal.

For example, having the cat become comfortable with you just petting over the muzzle area might be a first step. (comfortable ... as in doesn't rend and tear the skin from your body for having the audacity to touch there!) If the cat is very mouth shy, you may need to start with petting on the back of the head and gradually moving towards the mouth.

Identify what works as a reward for your cat - treats motivate some (low carb, please!), toys, praise, or laser pointer tag may motivate others.

Now, conduct 2 or more 5 minute training sessions spaced out across the day. The more sessions you can train a day, the faster you are likely to make progress.

You do the behavior, such as petting the head and sliding toward the muzzle. If the cat tolerates it, you reward. You do this for 5 minutes, then stop. Repeat this session at least once more during the day; several more if you can squeeze it in. Continue this for several days.

Once the cat is completely comfortable with a step, you progress to the next tiny step - perhaps that might be rubbing the lip and slightly lifting it. Again, if the cat tolerates it, you reward. You do this for 5 minutes, then stop. Continue this for several days.

If the cat balks, back up to the last successful step (kind of like the last successful dose) and consider if there might be another, smaller or different step which would allow progression towards the goal.

Above all, have patience. This is not likely to be fast for a cat who have never had a human poking something in its mouth!

Note that if the mouth is sore anywhere, you may accidentally touch that area and get swiped or bitten, so wearing long sleeves and pants is recommended. You may need to back up a step if that occurs because you will have associated pain with the behavior. I don't know if there are any topical oral anesthetic products that can be used; if so, that may help in the case of known infection and likely sensitivity.
 
Deb415andNikki said:
Dearest Dr. Lisa,
Is there a particular toothpaste cats, especially sugar cats, should use? Providing we get that special brush actually in their mouths...
Click to expand...

Hi Deb,

I just use the Virbac CET toothpaste. I try to get the "tartar control' because the abrasive stuff (silica) is higher on the list but...there is probably not much difference between the tartar control and the non-TC.

I just shot this video of me brushing Robbie's teeth. It does not show any detail but it shows how long it takes me and you can hear the 'scratch..scratch...scratch' if you have your volume turned up.

http://www.catinfo.org/media/Brushing%2 ... 0teeth.MPG

BTW, the kisses on the forehead are mandatory! :-D

Also...as noted on my website, I strongly suggest that a dental cleaning/exam is done first if there is any question about tartar on the teeth (brushing will NOT remove the hardened crud that is already there) or a painful tooth. The last thing that you want to do is to try to introduce tooth brushing to a cat with a painful mouth. That would be a very fast way to create a serious aversion to brushing.
 
Dr Pierson

For humans, there are OTC topical anesthetics for teething babies, for example Orajel.

The ingredient list:
Benzocaine, plus FD&C red #40, flavor,glycerin, polyethylene glycols, purified water, sodium saccharin, sorbic acid, sorbitol

Would any of those be of concern for cats?
Or would this be something to help when brushing sensitive mouths?
 
Hi BJ,

No, I would not ever consider the use of a product like this for many reasons.

1) If a cat has any pain in his/her mouth, it needs to be addressed while under general anesthesia.

2) a human is not going to know where isolated pain is

3) a product like this is not going to help the pain of a FORL, a broken tooth, etc.

4) you would be hard pressed to actually get this into a cat's mouth

Etc.
 
Kelly & Oscar said:
Plus the artificial sugars sacharrin and sorbitol are not good for feline systems from what I have read.
Click to expand...


that was what I was looking for!
 
Lisa dvm said:
Hi BJ,

No, I would not ever consider the use of a product like this for many reasons.

1) If a cat has any pain in his/her mouth, it needs to be addressed while under general anesthesia.
2) a human is not going to know where isolated pain is
3) a product like this is not going to help the pain of a FORL, a broken tooth, etc.
4) you would be hard pressed to actually get this into a cat's mouth

Etc.
Click to expand...

I was thinking along the lines of the 1 member who has had to postpone the dental because of other issues, ie, only while waiting to get in for a proper dental cleaning. And something topical could be preferable to a systemic pain med which would sedate the cat.

Plus, after a dental, the mouth may be sore.

Thats all.
 
On the topic of orajel, it isn't recommended anymore that you give it to babies because of so many allergies to "caine" ingredients, and because it can severely interfere with the swallow reflex. I would be concerned about both of those issues affecting a cat, too.
 
It would most likely be better to get the cat regular pain meds for it, rather than use something like Orajel.

Also a reminder that you shouldn't give a cat anything with propylene glycol in it. http://www.lyondellbasell.com/techlit/techlit/2275.pdf It's not the same as the ingredient you listed, but it's close enough for me to stay away from when giving to cats!

Oops.. nevermind. PROPYLENE GLYCOL shouldn't be given to cats, but what you listed is just a binding agent used in tablets or something like that. The first answer is what I've heard.. the bottom one isn't true. (Google "propylene glycol cats" if you want to read about it.)

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index ... 817AAIwgYo
 
BJM said:
I was thinking along the lines of the 1 member who has had to postpone the dental because of other issues, ie, only while waiting to get in for a proper dental cleaning. And something topical could be preferable to a systemic pain med which would sedate the cat.

Plus, after a dental, the mouth may be sore.

Thats all.
Click to expand...

But, again, you would NOT want to attempt to brush a cat's teeth if you felt compelled to use a product like you are proposing. The point is that you don't want to touch a cat's mouth if there is *any* pain..and....the product you are suggesting is not going to work for pain in a cat's mouth.

Honestly, I am not really worried about the ingredient list but am worried about the negative aspect of trying to work with a painful animal....and trying to use an agent that is not going to address that pain.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top