Plaque is a colorless film composed of bacteria, proteins, sugars, white blood cells, minerals, and water. It forms naturally and continuously on teeth and gums. After mixing with food particles and minerals in saliva, some of the plaque hardens and dries. The hard deposit forms tartar, and like plaque, it contributes to gum disease. Invisible to the unaided eye at first, plaque accumulation may lead to mouth odor, pain, infection, and tooth loss as tartar causes pockets of infection around the roots of the tooth and gradually destroys the bone and ligament supporting the tooth. All pets can develop these kinds of dental problems, but the smaller dog breeds and many purebred cats are at risk for developing them earlier and with more severity.

If your pet shows signs of dental disease -- mouth odor, tartar, pain or bleeding when eating or when the gums are touched, drooling, or dropping food from its mouth -- it may be time for a dental cleaning. When your pet is not showing signs of dental disease or has just had a cleaning, it's a good time to start a program of dental care at home.

Professional cleaning...
A veterinary dental cleaning starts with general anesthesia. A pre- anesthetic blood profile and intravenous fluids are recommended to make the anesthesia process as safe as possible. The tartar is removed by hand and also with an ultrasonic scaler. A probe is used to determine in any pockets are present, and at this point, the veterinarian examines each tooth carefully to decide if any extractions are necessary. Tartar and plaque under the gum line is carefully removed by hand, and the teeth are polished. The cleaning finishes with a fluoride treatment and thorough rinse.

Home cleaning...
Home dental care can be simple or more involved. Generally, the more thorough your home dental care program is, the more effective it will be, and your pet can go longer between professional cleanings.

Some simple things you can do are to give your pets toys, treats, or food made to help prevent plaque buildup. Examples are textured or "knobby" dog chew toys, treats that are tough instead of soft, and foods such as Hill's Science Diet T/D, a larger kibble that scrapes off plaque teeth as your dog chews it.

Brushing your pet's teeth is recommended and easiest to do if you start while your pet is very young. However, even if your pet is older, it's not too late to start tooth brushing (you can teach old dogs good oral hygiene). If you start slowly and gently and use a toothpaste flavor that your pet likes (poultry is popular!), brushing can be easy for you and pleasant for your pet.

An oral rinse can be substituted when brushing is impossible; a quick squirt in the corner of the mouth on a regular basis can make a real difference in the cleanliness and health of pet's teeth and is generally tolerate by pets with little patience.