Best Dog Teeth Cleaning Near Me: Finding The Best Clinic

It’s important to know how to take proper care of your dog’s teeth. Your dog is family. He is devoted to you and your family members; he provides companionship; and he gives unconditional love. Naturally, you want your dog to have a long and healthy life, thus it’s vital that you know how to search for the best dog teeth cleaning near me.

Most people still forget that taking proper care of their dog’s teeth is essential for the animal’s overall health. We have learnt that dogs in the wild keep their teeth healthy and free from plaque, tartar or any other kind of build-up by chewing on raw bones. The chewing of the bone helps scrape off the plaque and any soft meat that may get lodged between teeth and which encourages rapid growth of bacteria under the gum line.

However, as a dog parent, you must remember that YOUR dog is no wild animal and as such, he needs YOUR help to keep his teeth healthy and free of bacteria that can cause bad breath, periodontal disease and other more serious problems like systemic diseases.

It’s common for pet dogs to be fed a diet of small chunks of hard food coupled with soft canned food. However, that isn’t going to help him much in keeping his teeth clean and healthy.

Dog teeth care with bones or toys

So, since you prize your dog, make sure to help him out in maintaining proper oral hygiene. And the very first thing you’ll want to do for this purpose is to make him chew on raw bones frequently enough—that is to say, at least 3-4 times a week. You can start your puppy from young by leaving these chew toys in their crates.

It can be the hard leftover bones from your table. But you can also go for rawhide bones, synthetic chew bones or chew toys—all of which you’ll find at your nearest pet store or from Amazon. Once you give these to him, he will instinctively chew on them and in the process, all the little chunks of soft meat or food will be dislodged from the teeth and the plaque will be scraped off.

However, if the chewing is not working or if your dog isn’t too keen on chewing on bones in the first place, there’ll not be any dog teeth cleaning taking place. That will mean more work for you. Then you’ll have to take your dog’s oral care in your own hands.

Dog teeth care with brushing

You’ll have to start brushing his teeth with toothpaste. However, once you do that, make sure to get special dog toothpaste and brushes from any pet store near you. You’ll be able to purchase brushing kit especially for dogs on Amazon.

We recommend daily brushing. However, if that is not possible, try to brush your dog’s teeth at least 3-4 times a week.

During the brushing routine, thoroughly scrub the teeth but do it carefully and gently. Otherwise, your dog will not enjoy the process and it will be harder the next time. Also, make sure to massage his gums, gently again, since this makes for good circulation in and around the gums.

Since soft food is more prone to getting stuck in the teeth, raise the portion of dry, hard food (use a good quality one) in his diet. If he has little interest in chewing bones, you may also give him more dog biscuits, kibbles, etc. since the latter are hard and dry food and will help remove plaque and build-ups to some extent.

Also, every time you take your dog to the vet for regular checkups, make sure that the vet does a proper examination of his mouth and teeth as well. The vet will be able to tell you if anything is wrong with your dog’s teeth and what measures to take. Also, ask your vet as to what foods will work best to keep the dog’s teeth naturally healthy and free of bacteria.

It’s always best to take preventive care. You don’t want to wait till things get serious. That will be painful for your canine friend and the treatment costs will hurt your purse, too. Of course, you want to do your utmost to give your dog a long and happy life and taking proper care of your dog’s oral hygiene is an essential part of that.

Tips For Finding The Right Vet Clinic For Dog Teeth Cleaning

As a responsible pet guardian (aka purdian), you may already be taking good care of your canine companion’s oral hygiene. Most purdians give their dogs good dental hygiene treats (such as chew toys, synthetic chew bones, etc.) in order to keep their teeth strong and to prevent build-ups. Some may also perform regular brushing of their dog’s teeth to ensure even better oral hygiene.

All the same, it is still highly recommended that you take your dog to a certified vet every six to eight months for dental checkup and for routine cleaning and scaling (Note: Smaller dogs may need more frequent checkups and cleaning since they are more prone to yellow build-up or tartar and plaque.).

And of course, you’ll need to see a dentist for your dog at the earliest possible if you suspect there is something wrong with their teeth and/or gum (some telltale signs include growths or bumps within the mouth; swollen, red or bleeding gums; tartar crust, typically of a yellowish-brown color, along the gum line; excessive drooling; broken, crooked, discolored or missing teeth).

However, the big question is how to find the right vet for your dog who will be able to administer proper dental care to the animal. You will need to find a reliable dentist for your dog—one who is proficient at his job—and at the same time, you’ll have to take heed of the costs, too (especially since you’ll be taking your dog to the clinic at regular intervals for routine check-ups).

In short, you’ll need to find an affordable vet clinic which should be able to offer proper dental care (check-up/cleaning, etc.) of your dog. And this task, to say the least, is not an easy one.

How to Research on the Best and Most Affordable Dog Teeth Cleaning Near Me

First of all, you must try to find a clinic close to where you live. All pet parents know it is not easy to carry your pet to the vet, so it is convenient if you can find a clinic nearer your home. However, do not stick too fast to this criterion. If you do happen to find a good clinic that provides proper service at an affordable rate but which is further from your home (as long as it’s not too far), be mentally prepared to travel the extra distance.

If you’ve fellow purdian friends/relatives/neighbours, it is always best to ask for suggestions from them. As long as you’ve enough confidence on the opinion/suggestion of the person concerned, this is by far the best method to find what you’re looking for.

Otherwise, you may start with a Google search such as ‘best vet clinics near me’ (or, if you want to be more specific, search ‘dog teeth cleaning near me’) and then look deeper at the options that come up. Make sure to carefully read the reviews. Not all clinics specialize in all kinds of services, so pay heed to that aspect.

Now, once you’ve zeroed down on a handful of vet clinics/services, we recommend that you first visit the clinics yourself before taking your dog there. Ask the clinic staff about the services they provide; equipment they have; whether or not they offer on-site emergency services and/or testing facilities—ultrasounds, bloodwork, x-rays, etc. (this last one is important for dental care purposes, but more on that later).

Also try to make a note of the general atmosphere and environment of the clinics. Talking a bit with the staff or para-vets will give you a good idea as to whether the clinic really cares for the well-being of the pets or is it just about business.

And finally, ask about the costs involved for different procedures (for dental care as well as for other procedures, since you may have to visit the clinic for other purposes, too, and it is better to collect as much information you can while you are there). Know what payment methods the clinic accepts and whether there are options for flexible payment (such as paying in installments and the like).

Important Things to Look Out for When Looking for a Dentist for Your Dog

When you take your dog to a vet for dental check-up, the normal veterinary procedure includes making a thorough examination of the dog’s mouth, teeth and gum line to check for infections, bleeding or pain spots. Depending on what the vet finds during his primary examination, he may prescribe a dental x-ray to determine the existence (or otherwise) of any harmful bacteria under the dog’s gum line.

This is why it is important that you settle for a clinic that offers diagnostic tests. This way, you won’t need to make several visits to different facilities (which will, of course, ramp up the costs).

Now, as for the dental cleaning and scaling procedure, this is done either under anesthesia or without anesthesia. The former is always the better option since this allows the vet to properly clean and polish the teeth; remove tarter and plaque, if there is any; and most importantly, it lets the doctor do a proper cleaning beneath the gum line.

The cleaning procedure may also be performed without anesthesia, given the dog is calm and friendly enough. Even so, this is somewhat of a challenging task for the vet and is also stressful for the dog. What is more, if dental x-ray shows existence of bacteria under gum line (which can lead to damage of the teeth, bad breath, periodontal, and even, systemic disease), cleaning under anesthesia becomes a must.

However, there is only one catch with an anesthetic procedure—which is that your pet has to be in good health to be put under anesthesia. This is why we recommend that you always request a blood test (most vets will suggest it themselves) before putting your dog under anesthesia. This again shows the importance of choosing a clinic with diagnostic facilities available.

Final Thoughts

Having a dog is much like having a child, there are lots of responsibility and costs involved. You love your furry companion so you want to make sure you give it the best care possible. As such, finding the best dog teeth cleaning near me is important in order that you’re able to send your dog there should there be an emergency.

You’ll want to know where to go and what to do so that your doggie gets the best care at the fastest speed possible. Sometimes bacteria in the teeth can be life threatening so be sure to keep your dog’s oral health under checks from the start.