Candy, I seriously would add in tooth brushing though, to help keep it that way.
Basenji dental
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I brush Buddy's teeth with a toothbrush 1/day. He's 2, teeth are white and breath is great. He chews on them a bit so I just throw it out after about 3 weeks. I buy the 4 packs at Target. I always did my last 2 Basenjis as well but only like 3-4 times a week and they never had teeth problems. I think I never had to get their teeth cleaned. It's an overall health hazard to have dirty teeth. Tooth brush works the best! Of course that's not to say there might be tooth issues like maybe a cavity or cracked/broken tooth.
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I still swear by Petzlife Oral Gel. I don't have the best habit of brushing Kananga's teeth, I usually only do it once or twice per week, but I use the oral spray usually every or every other night. I have found it helps prevent and break down tartar. It also freshens up their breath quite well.
A quick spray or two inside their mouth before bedtime and that's it.
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I just get in the habit of doing it before I go to work everyday. I have the Petzlife oral gel too. Have only tried it once. I can keep them clean for now without it. It's not just keeping the the teeth clean but the gums stimulated too by using the brush.
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Cody had dental work done, it was over $600. with one tooth pulled and all the cleaning, drugs because the tooth was causing issues with his eye, infection going up into his nasel area.
Really, as expensive as it is, its something to be done sooner than later, or you have a b with infections in his head…like I did... -
Hi, In Richmond VA we are very lucky to have "Helping Hands Vet. They cleaned Lucy's teeth (6yrs old) for $155.00 included everything! That even includes extractions (Lucy didn't need it). They specialize in providing quality yet affordable surgical procedures. You might call you local SPCA…& see if your area has this wonderful option. Good Luck!
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Infections in the head sound hideous… we will do what we can ASAP. The suggestion to wait until February was raised by the vet, and she seemed confident that her gums looked good, though with the caveat that they can never know for sure until they x-ray and get in there under anesthesia.
It's all going on my credit card, at any rate!
Meanwhile, looks like I'll be learning to brush teeth other than my own. The Doggy Daddy will loooove this, heh. What about those finger toothbrushes? Those look more manageable to me than a regular toothbrush. Whatever we use will take some practice, regardless...
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Infections in the head sound hideous… we will do what we can ASAP. The suggestion to wait until February was raised by the vet, and she seemed confident that her gums looked good, though with the caveat that they can never know for sure until they x-ray and get in there under anesthesia.
It's all going on my credit card, at any rate!
Meanwhile, looks like I'll be learning to brush teeth other than my own. The Doggy Daddy will loooove this, heh. What about those finger toothbrushes? Those look more manageable to me than a regular toothbrush. Whatever we use will take some practice, regardless...
Read through this thread. Using a brush is actually easy.
http://www.basenjiforums.com/showthread.php?t=1485 -
Does Bowpi have a lot of eye gunk? Poor dental health can manifest that way as well. I'd definitely say clean now versus later. The last time one of my basenjis had his teeth cleaned he had an infection in one of the very back teeth, which is hard to get to and brush.
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And another little story about bad teeth, my old boy, OJ had horrible teeth, as did many in his bloodlines….. While other then looking "not so nice" he really didn't have horrible breath, but you could tell he was just a bit off... At first we just thought it was his age and that he was getting a bit cranky as he aged... however after a dental were the poor guy had 3 teeth extracted and 2 that just fell out... we have a totally NEW boy... he changed 110% and was back to that nutty happy fellow!!
I am a big one now on teeth and gums.... and better to do it as soon as possible and then work really hard at keeping them clean. Sometimes easier said then done, especially if they happen to come from a line were seems bad teeth are genetic... but it really does make a difference.
There are a lot of products out there that can help. There is one called Happy Mouth that you mix in the water. There is a new one that you sprinkle on the food that people that have told me about it, swear by it, still waiting to get the name and will pass along
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I have found the easiest way to do Arwen's teeth is put her on her back, open her mouth wide and brush. I won't lie, she'd bite if she could but with pressure on the lower jaw she can't get much momentum. She has gotten used to it over time but she hates it and me during the time. But it was the only position that let me see and get to the very back teeth.
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Does Bowpi have a lot of eye gunk? Poor dental health can manifest that way as well. I'd definitely say clean now versus later. The last time one of my basenjis had his teeth cleaned he had an infection in one of the very back teeth, which is hard to get to and brush.
Actually, since you mention it, her right eye does tear slightly. It's not much, and there's never any color to it. Her previous owner said she was always like that, possibly from a near-eye injury she received two owners ago. Supposedly she got in a fight with another dog and was bitten/scratched near her eye – there's still the slightest scar beneath her eye from that incident. (It's hard for me to imagine her being the instigator of anything that extreme!)
The high estimate we received from the vet includes the possibility of having to extract one of the back molars, which was quoted at $168 a pop because they can apparently take a whole hour to extract. It's one of the gunkier teeth.
So I picked up a Virbac C.E.T. dental kit, since I like their chews so much.
http://www.virbacvet.com/cet/product/cet_oral_hygiene_kit_for_dogs_70g_poultry_flavd/34/
It's hard to get in there because she sleeps sooo much and her favorite position is the tightly coiled donut. But we are going slowly, as recommended.
The other link to the dental discussion was really helpful, too.
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I make brushing fun with Buddy. I call the couch the dental chair. I tell him "in the dental chair Mister" and he runs over and lays at one end ready. I don't force it ever and if he fidgets twisting his head away I back off for a 15-30 seconds and let him lick/chew the brush a little and relax. My previous 2 Basenjis were easy too. Tell them as your doing it "what a gooood dog"! Maybe he just likes his teeth clean.
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Here's an update…
My attempts at learning to brush Bowpi's teeth kind of failed. I didn't get further than letting her lick the special enzymatic toothpaste off the brush, as opposed to actually getting to her teeth.
Meanwhile, we were able to continue knocking off more plaque with the same regimen of raw meaty bones, dental chews, anti-plaque additives and hard kibble which we'd had going on before. But still, not enough.
Got quotes from a couple more vets, none of which thought her condition urgent either. In the end, we just decided to go with the first vet because I do want to establish a good relationship with a "regular" vet instead of shopping around all the time, and they seem to be good people at this practice.
Bowpi went in for her dental appointment this morning. I felt awful having to rouse her out of deep sleep. She was totally spread out underneath the blanket, taking up the space that I had vacated when I got up in the morning. Dropped her off at 8 AM, got her back about 3 PM.
Total damage, < $500 after Dental Month discounts, no extractions. Yay!
She cried for about twenty minutes straight after we picked her up... poor thing. I had never heard her vocalize quite so much, at least not so continuously. I gave her some anti-anxiety drops in a bit of yogurt, and she settled down. Now she's sleeping off her tough day.
We'll go back in a couple weeks later just to follow up, and they'll try to show me how to brush her teeth. The vet is also supposed to send me some before and after pictures they took of the process, so that should be fun.
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Glad she made it through with flying colors! Mine love the chicken flavored toothpaste and don't mind a quick scrubbing (which I don't do as often as I should). My vet includes a non-anesthesia ultrasound cleaning with the yearly exam for an extra $25, last year they found 2 bad teeth on Eddie, showed me, knocked him right out then pulled them and I don't think it was but an extra hundred or so, I got a groggy boy back in about 30 minutes. We had just done the yearly lab work and looked at results, so a quick puff of anesthesia then pulling 2 teeth that were really bad under the gumline tarter was easy for the vet. I was very lucky he charged me so little for the extractions.
I have paid $600 just for an extraction for a cracked molar with another vet. (same city) -
I noted this product on another thread, but will post it here to. The product that I made reference to is called Plaque Off. It is wonderful, easy to use and it really works. Tiny scoop on the food daily and that's it! My co-owned 4yr old had lots of tarter just a year after having his teeth cleaned… within a month almost all was gone.. and his other owner is NOT very good at remembering to brush them.... My other friend not only uses on their Basenjis but their cats too. And he said within a month the cats teeth (that were really nasty) are 90% improved and the Vet even remarked what a difference.
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Pat, Amazon has them for amazing price so I got 2 containers for about 21 bucks with shipping. I am ready to try anything.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000U8HN5W/ref=ord_cart_shr?ie=UTF8&m=A39LSJLBH7NVIQArwen has become much less resistant to having her teeth brushed, helped I am sure by a round of antibiotics and steroids to get the red pockets gone. I will be keeping her on steroids (was daily for 5 days, every other day for 10 days, and now every 3 days) for another couple of weeks. Because they are pretty sure hers is autoimmune (CUPS) I have to brush thoroughly every day. Hopefully we can keep the infection away and stop it.
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Yes, we learned of PlaqueOff on this board and have been using it continuously for about 9 or 10 months now. It does go a long way – we're on our second bottle. I think it helped.
Wysong also makes something called Dentatreat that is similar, but I don't think one container lasts as long. We haven't tried that one.
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Every time I take Shaye to the vet he asks if I brush her teeth because they look so great - I haven't. Gemma's teeth are beginning to get some staining on the top of her fangs - so i have bought toothbrushes and toothpaste and one of the finger things too, and will be brushing dog teeth soon as I get up the nerve. I will follow everyone's suggestions to let them mess around with the brush in their mouths at their pleasure before actually starting. I will say I have been giving the girls Dentastix by Pedigree as treats when we leave the house - the vet said maybe those are helping keep them clean. In any event, wish me luck. Fortunately, neither of them minds getting their mouths opened and people messing about in there. So far.
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I think it is great stuff… of course my kids are still really young... so either it is helping to not get tarter... (along with brushing a couple of times a week, cause I am not so good at making sure I do it....) or they have good teeth/food/treats that are helping. But the person that recommended it is a Basenji Breeder and she got the recommendation from her sister that raises Flat Coats.... and swears by it. For the price and its long last, certainly worth a try....
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Here in our area, where there are 3 excellent vets, they charge $500 for cleaning (including sedation). Any teeth pulling or special work is added on top of that cost. I'm working on keeping Kipawa's teeth pearly white. We have a 17 year old cat that only has 4 teeth left. She had a genetic abnormality that caused problems in her bones and teeth. But if you put something yummy in front of her, even if it is a kibble type food, she will work away on it until it is all gone. She must have the strongest gums - just very few teeth. She has cost us huge dental bills over the years, but we would have done the same for kids if we would have had any. To me, there is no difference.
The way I look at it, if I would do it for a human child, I will do it for my kids (the animal variety). Responsibility comes with many factors, cost being one of them.
