Pet Dental

Years ago we could not imagine taking our pets to the veterinary clinic for dentistry. However, it has become “natural” for our pets to go to the dental surgeon for teeth cleaning or other dental procedures. There is absolutely nothing wrong with pet dentistry. What is wrong is the fact that our pets have serious dental problems. Why?

What did pets consume prior to kibble diets? Most pets were on the farm and were fed ‘real’ food. They were given meaty bones to chew which helped to keep teeth clean through the grinding action. Nowadays, the kibble and canned foods are highly processed and do not resemble food at all. When pets eat this food, there is no longer any grinding action that allows for any teeth cleaning to occur.

In most cases, pet foods sit out all day. In these cases, the pet has no anticipation of food and therefore lacks a flow of digestive juices before eating. In the wild, dogs and cats hunt for their food. During the hunt, their digestive juices and enzymes would flow into their mouth, and in turn these enzymes helped clean their teeth. Tartar is essentially bacteria, and any bacteria in the mouth have difficulty existing in this enzymatic environment. The teeth are a true reflection of your pets’ inner body health. Thus, if there is a lot of tartar built up, the arteries and veins will reflect this with similar build up.

A good example of how nutrition plays a role in dental health is the CBS television show “Survivor”. If you look at some of the Survivor contestant’s teeth at the start of the show their teeth are yellow. Over the next 36 days, you can see their teeth become whiter. This clearly illustrates how a fresh food diet contributes to inner health, thus allowing your teeth to become whiter. The survivor contestants rely on their own hunting and gathering techniques to be able to eat. They do not have access to convenience store candy bars or potato chips. Instead, they eat fresh pineapples, drink coconut milk, and eat the fish they catch. This is no different from switching your pet from kibble or canned food to a raw meat diet like Home Made 4 Life. Over a few months the tartar on your pets teeth should lessen. If this is not seen, then your pet may have a deeper health problem that should be investigated.

Dentistry is important for pets with broken teeth and infected gums. It is important to have your pet’s teeth checked because dental problems can cause larger organ’s to have poor health. It is recommended to feed a fresh food diet – just like what they would eat if they were in the wild. When I am preparing to put Home Made 4 Life into my dog’s dish, she is salivating. This could be part of the reason her teeth are nice and white at the age of 11 years without dentistry. Deleted…

Another component as to why a fresh food diet is better than kibble or canned is due to the composition of the diet. Most kibble diets are composed of soluble fiber, which increases tartar build up on teeth. Soluble fiber is easily broken down into simple starches.  Examples of soluble fibers include white rice, wheat, sugars, corn, etc. The digestive juices in the mouth breakdown the soluble fiber easily. The resulting simple starches stick to the teeth and cause tartar and gum disease. Insoluble fibers, that are found in Home Made 4 Life, are better for not only your pets teeth but also the intestinal tract. Insoluble fiber is not easily broken down and requires further digestion in the digestive tract. Therefore, smaller molecules are not produced in the mouth and not available to build up on the teeth.  Insoluble fiber is found in vegetables such as broccoli, cauliflower, celery, squash, etc. or long grains such as barley, spelt, rye, etc.

Prevention can be the key for every health issue. Nutrition is one of the important methods to providing a healthy oral cavity. Many pet owners clean their pets teeth. Others, like myself, feed a raw food diet and raw meaty bones to keep teeth clean. I prefer to keep my pets teeth clean by providing a natural diet rather than brushing teeth or subjecting my pet to anaesthetic for dental cleaning or surgery.

The above information is intended to give you more information about flower essences. If you have more questions, please consult a holistic veterinarian.