Cashew's preventive dental

Cashew, the 9-year-old Shih Tzu cross, came in to see Dr Nikki at our Pukekohe clinic for a dental procedure recently. Her owner is aware that she is prone to dental disease, so she usually has this procedure done every 2 years. Luckily, this year her dental x-rays showed no disease in her remaining teeth and so a good clean was all that was needed, and we didn’t need to extract any teeth.

Small breed dogs are more prone to dental disease, as are dogs that have a shortened jaw like the Shih Tzu’s, Pugs, French bulldogs and Boxers so Cashew has 2 factors working against her. Small breed dogs have proportionally bigger teeth to their jaw size, and so the teeth tend to be overcrowded without nice gaps in between so tartar builds up more easily. One study showed that by the time they were 1, 10% of toy breed dogs had bone loss around teeth secondary to dental disease.

Dental disease is linked to liver disease, heart disease and kidney disease so the health of your dog’s mouth is important for its overall health. Signs of dental disease include bad breath, chewing on one side, not wanting to chew harder foods or they may show absolutely no signs at all of having a sore mouth. This is why we offer free dental checks with our qualified nurses to keep your pet healthy and happy.

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