Teeth Cleaning?

I have a small Yorkie with a lot of tarter on her teeth how do I get it off? I only give her dry food now and those green bones but its not working.

Teeth Cleaning?
Sorry, you can%26#039;t get the tarter off yourself. It takes a dental cleaning under anesthesia. After that, you can try to prevent the return of tarter too fast by using special dry food and greenies. Here%26#039;s the best plan... dental cleaning twice a year (just like you) and brushing daily (just like you). Ok this takes money and time, but if left unattended, dental tarter leads to dental disease, which can lead to heart disease. Not to mention bad breath, loss of teeth, poor appetite, and more frequent trips to the vet. Small dogs have worse teeth than big dogs. They get dirty twice as fast as large breeds, it seems unfair.
Reply:Ask your vet. I%26#039;m sure she can recommend something for your doggie. =)
Reply:It%26#039;s not easy. Trip to the vet, general anesthetic, lots of scraping, $300 bill.
Reply:Be careful of greenies. A friend of mine had to have surgery for her dog. The greenies put holes in the intestine.
Reply:If the tarter is extensive take your Yorkie to a vet and have her teeth cleaned. Generally this is done under a light anesthesia. After this is done you can buy doggie tooth paste at most pet stores and brush her teeth several times a week. If you can scale her teeth yourself with a teeny weeny scaler (not recommended for a layperson) you may be able to remove it. How old is your dog? Pretty common in older dogs. But do something to save her teeth.
Reply:They sell toothbrushes and doggy toothpaste at pretty much every pet store. You should be able to brush her teeth all by yourself.
Reply:A lot of your options depends on the temperament of your dog. I have two miniature pinschers and a black lab. All of them allow me to %26#039;scale%26#039; their teeth and chip off the yellow/brown tarter buildup. I regularly do this (weekly/monthly) and even my seven year old dog still has lovely white teeth.





Now, assuming your dog is not going to tolerate this, then you must contact the vet and have them do it under general anesthetic. You may wish to consider lumping together several things such as a dental, spay/neuter, grooming, nail clipping, ear cleaning, tattoo (for identification purposes) etc. at the same time as the bulk of the cost of the dental is the anesthetic.





Odd as this sounds, if you know any hunters, I find antlers are ideal chew toys for keeping teeth clean...the tines of the antlers seem to fit right into the various grooves, the material flakes of in tiny 1/16 inch harmless bits, and they last forever; it is also a great source of minerals such as calcium.





It seems from your letter that you have learned the hard way that feeding soft foods leads to dental issues...you have obviously been trying to figure out the best way to handle this, good for you!





Good Luck.



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