I’ve said it before and I will say it again – I don’t brush my dog’s teeth.
I know that brushing is the “gold standard” recommended by veterinarians to help avoid costly dental cleanings but I am also realistic. I know that brushing their teeth just isn’t going to happen.
However, just because I don’t brush their teeth doesn’t mean I don’t care about their dental health. It’s just that I know that brushing your dog’s teeth is not the only way to help keep your dog’s teeth clean and breath smelling fresh.
UPDATED: March 10, 2019
The Problem with Dirty Dog Teeth
Plaque and tartar on your dogs teeth, left unchecked, can cause and overgrowth of bacteria that can seep into the blood stream and pose serious health problems.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, by the time your pet is 3 years old, he or she will very likely have some early evidence of periodontal disease, which will worsen as your pet grows older if effective preventive measures aren’t taken.
Dogs can have many of the same dental complications that people can develop if their teeth are not properly cared for like:
- Periodontal disease
- Abscesses or infected teeth
- Cysts or tumors in the mouth
My goal is to keep my dogs, Chester and Gretel, as healthy as possible so they can stay active, and continue to climb mountains, for years to come.
What I don’t want his teeth to look like again
Searching for a Oral Health Solution
For me, I need a way to help their teeth stay clean that is convenient and doesn’t involve wrestling with them to get a toothbrush in their mouth (You ever try to pry open a Dachshund’s jaw? It’s like trying to open a steel trap I tell ya. Kidding. Almost.).
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by TropiClean and the BlogPaws Professional Pet Blogger Network when it was originally written. During the update, I changed all product links to affiliate links so I receive a small commission if you buy something (at no additional cost to you). However, I only share products that we have tried and everything I say is really how I feel .
I devised a natural system that allows my dogs to “brush their own teeth”, that includes giving them bully sticks to chew on, but I wanted to do more.
A few of my readers mentioned that they use TropiClean Oral Care Products to help keep their dog’s teeth clean and breath fresh. The TropiClean name stuck in the back of my mind but I didn’t give it much thought at the time.
Eventually, I decided to look a little more into the dental products out there for dogs. The idea of a water additive was intriguing to me.
I was shocked to find that some water additives contain xylitol, which is toxic to dogs. The claim is that such small quantities aren’t harmful but I don’t believe that….especially for small dogs.
TropiClean products snapped back into the front of my mind when I learned I may get the opportunity to try them out and review them.
For the first time, I actually looked at the products they offer and the ingredients. I was shocked again, but in a good way this time.
It turns out their products contain natural, wholesome ingredients that are sourced in the United States. TropiClean avoids using common pet allergens and toxins so they tend to be safe to use for many sensitive pets.
I thought, “Now THESE are commercial dental products I can get behind.”
I decided to try the Tropiclean Fresh Breath water additive (some come with added beneficial ingredients so I chose the digestive support formula).
While I was at it, I thought I would try the Tropiclean Clean Teeth Gel and Dental Sticks too.
So What Did I Think?
I liked the water additive. Honestly though, I only use it now and then to supplement my normal teeth cleaning system.
I like that it’s a natural product, it claims to keep your dog’s breath fresh for 12 hours (but since they drink it all day, it should keep their breath fresh all the time), and I love that it claims to help keep your dog’s teeth clean without brushing.
However, it’s an extra step to filling their water dish, and an additional cost in addition to all of the other high quality raw dog food and dog supplements I buy for them, so I don’t regularly use it. I do think it helps their breath though when we do.
As for the teeth cleaning gel, I ran into a similar issue as with brushing.
My dogs don’t want anything stuck in their mouth that they don’t want there so it was hard for me to apply it well enough, and often enough, to be effective. Chester didn’t like the taste either.
However, I have heard good things about it from friends who use it on a regular basis.
The dental chews were a hit. Well, everything edible is a hit in my dog’s eyes. Ha, ha.
My worry with the dental sticks, since it didn’t take them long to devour them, was the calories. I find that bully sticks take my dogs longer to chew and can therefore “simulate brushing with each bite” like the Tropiclean dental sticks but with fewer calories.
The bottom line is that I think Tropiclean makes great products and they work.
When I do want to use a water additive to improve dental health, I always use the one from Tropiclean.
As for the dental chews and oral gel, I would definitely recommend them to others but they just didn’t work for us in our situation because of our preferences and lifestyle (it was no fault of the product).
Do you tried any products like these to help keep your dog’s teeth clean? Did anything in particular work well or was there any you definitely didn’t like?
Flea says
October 23, 2014 at 6:23 AMInteresting. I’m not a dog tooth brusher either. So now that my dogs are nearly 13 years old, we’re looking at nearly 300 dollars to sedate and clean (combined, both dogs). I just don’t have that at the moment. Long story. But I’ll have to look into that for all three once this is done. Or before. Thank you!
Shelly Vanpelt says
October 23, 2014 at 6:31 AMIs the photo above a “before” photo? I am interested in your results.
Jessica Rhae says
October 23, 2014 at 6:36 AMYes….kind of. We haven’t started using the products yet so there is no “after” to make a “before” 🙂
Delonna says
October 23, 2014 at 6:41 AMi have three doxies of my own aged
14, 3, and 1. For doggy breath, I give them each a little blob of coconut oil every morning (I use it for body lotion also ;). It really REALLY takes care of the breath and keeps their coats fabulously soft….. I try to go all natural for my crew as much as possible…..
Jessica Rhae says
October 23, 2014 at 6:46 AMI use coconut oil on their food (so it gets into their mouth) but I find they have a lot of plaque and that doesn’t help it at our house. I plan to keep using it but I like that TropiClean is designed specifically for teeth cleaning and is also all natural (although not “straight from the plant” like coconut oil).
JoGelinas says
October 23, 2014 at 7:17 AMThanks for the post! The food I give Gretchen leaves a lot of plaque on her teeth and I need something to help with it. I give her Greenies but they don’t seem to be doing the trick. I’ll be waiting to see how TropiClean works!
Dawn says
October 23, 2014 at 7:21 AMI never thought about brushing my dogs’ teeth until I got Pierson. He is a notorious poop eater and there is something about the shape of his mouth or something else that makes him get tartar build up very easily. Maya, at age 7, has great teeth. I’ve never had to brush hers. But I have to brush Pierson’s daily. And I use Tropiclean. It is so easy to use and Pierson actually likes the taste.
I wasn’t aware that other products used xylitol. Interestingly, people say similar things about the flouride in our toothpaste and in our water system. It is toxic, but because it is in such small quantities supposedly that makes it safe… supposedly.
Melissa says
October 23, 2014 at 7:34 AMI’m excited to hear how these products work out! We do brush, but not enough. Leeloo hates it so incredibly much, and even though she’s a little chihuahua, it is impossible to really pry her jaw open and hold her still enough to get everywhere! I cannot even imagine how people with big dogs could possibly do this. She had a dental at the vet last year. We want to do that as little as possible because it is terrifying having such a small dog under anesthesia (the smaller the animal, the more difficult to get the dose exactly right). We’ve tried so many chews and things. Currently we have antlers, and even though she does like chewing them a lot, she still has a lot of build-up and stinky, stinky breath. Hope TropiClean works! I would love to try it!
Leah says
October 23, 2014 at 10:41 AMI have been wracked with guilt for not brushing my dogs teeth, despite my best intentions. I am happy to hear I’m not the only one who has not incorporated the brushing habit! I look forward to benefiting from your test case.
Jessica Rhae says
October 23, 2014 at 10:58 AMI caught a lot of flack for admitting it at first.I know from years of experience with the dog groups that I organize that I am not the only one that doesn’t brush my dog’s teeth though. So much of what you hear is just brush, brush, brush but that doesn’t help the people just aren’t going to. I want to give those people (me) some alternative options that are better than doing nothing.
Jan grzywacz says
October 23, 2014 at 3:20 PMThank you thank you for saying you don’t brush the dogs teeth. Even though my baby is 10 YO and has had about 8 teeth removed, I still fight with him to brush his teeth. The best I do is periodically I put some paste on my finger and rub it over his teeth. And of course my vet makes me somewhat guilty for not cleaning his teeth.
I love my little doxie and hate to see him toothless. I’ve been using Nylabone advance oral care water additive with not much result. Dentistix, milkbones, dry kibble, nylabones, and elk antlers. He doesn’t really like to chew anything for very long. Thanks for letting me vent!
Ann Staub says
October 24, 2014 at 9:50 AMYou know, I was going to say the exact same thing as you! That I can hardly remember to brush my own teeth, much less my dog’s lol…
Sheila vince says
November 7, 2014 at 2:38 PMI have been giving my 4small dogs a product called Plaque Off it is all natural seaweed . Sprinkled on their dinner each day it softens the plaque and then prevents it sticking to their teeth. I find it works really well. It is available on Amazon.
Jessica Rhae says
November 7, 2014 at 4:13 PMI’ve used Plaque Off for months and saw very minimal if any difference in Chester and Gretel’s teeth. It’s still something I might incorporate into a routine (because it did work a little) but it’s not a solution on it’s own for us.
sheila vince says
November 8, 2014 at 2:59 AMI did have to use more that it states to get it to work, I give them to three scoops each.
Jessica Rhae says
November 8, 2014 at 4:00 PMMaybe that would help with Chester and Gretel. I heard that kelp (which is what Plaque-off is) has a lot of iron and that it was not good to give your dogs too much iron. I never researched that though.
Ekaterini says
January 12, 2019 at 8:05 AMHi!! I just bought this product and would like to know if it worked for you or not. I have read amazing reviews but also some crappy ones. Please let us know how you liked this product.
Jessica Rhae says
January 14, 2019 at 6:20 AMHi. We tried this out a long time ago. I stopped using the gel pretty quick because it was too hard to get on my dog’s gums. The chews were good for helping scrape the plaque off their teeth when used regularly. I didn’t use the water additive enough to see a big difference but I know several other pet owners who have used it and had good results. Hope it works for your pup!