What to Look for in a Dog Toothbrush Plus Our Top Options
When searching for a dog toothbrush or oral health care kit, it can be hard to figure out what actually matters aside from the semantics. A brush head is more important than a toothpaste flavor, but both can change the effect teeth cleaning has on your pet. Tooth brushing can be very time-consuming. But dog teeth cleaning is a vital aspect of their health, and it's incredibly important to provide regular cleaning sessions to avoid serious dental problems like tooth decay.
The Importance of a Dog's Oral Health
When grooming your dog, caring for their oral health should always be part of the regular process. A dog's oral health is vital in maintaining the best physical health possible.
If you don't provide proper care for your dog's mouth, then they can easily develop serious health issues. When dogs eat, plaque and tartar gather on their teeth. These bacteria can become an issue if it isn't cleaned often enough. Over time, if the tartar or plaque becomes too much, it can make its way into your dog's digestive system. Every time your pet eats or drinks, the bacteria already present in their mouth enter their body with their food. In the worst situations, this can cause respiratory disease and heart disease.
Most dogs won't develop serious enough issues to suffer from a disease like this, but many dogs experience periodontal disease, a form of dental disease. The first stage of dental disease is inflamed red gums. These gums can look swollen, and they may bleed when you brush your dog's teeth. Many dogs have this stage of dental disease, and their owners aren't even aware of the situation.
Regularly cleaning your dog's teeth can prevent dental disease from progressing to more serious stages. Further stages of dental disease can cause your dog's teeth to rot, and it will require them to get pulled. But even though the first stage of dental disease isn't cause for excessive concern, pet owners should know that this stage can make eating, chewing, or playing uncomfortable for your pet. This can make some of their favorite activities a little bit painful on their gums, so it's best to provide as much dental care as you possibly can, so your dog can live its happiest and healthiest life.
Easing Your Pet Into Dental Cleanings
Many owners don't clean their dog's teeth often enough. Sometimes the reason for this lack of cleaning is because they can't find the time, but other times the excuse is that their dog doesn't like getting their teeth cleaned. Many pet owners don't know how to ease their pet into dental cleanings to make the entire brushing session pain-free and calm.
In order to get your dog to enjoy getting their teeth brushed, you'll have to start very slow. First, begin by putting a small amount of your dog's toothpaste on your finger and allow them to smell it and lick it if they will. This will work best if your dog willingly licks the toothpaste, as this is crucial in order for them to be able to enjoy teeth cleaning sessions more.
After this step, you'll want to take a small amount of toothpaste on your finger and dab it on your dog's tongue. Once your dog seems comfortable with these steps, then you can move on to taking a dab of their toothpaste on your finger and massaging their gums with it. After this, only then can you move on to using a brush on their teeth. Moving on to brushing your dog's teeth before they're ready for it can cause them to become fearful of dental cleanings. The goal is to get them to enjoy, even just tolerate, having their teeth brushed. A traumatizing experience isn't the way to go.
However, the more often you clean your dog's teeth, the more used to it they will become. It will also help if you give your dog treats before and after every brushing session. You might have to wait for a little after, but you can always give them dental treats to take extra special care of their oral health.
What to Look for in a Dog Toothbrush Plus Our Top Options:
by Vet’s Best
1. Vet's Best Dog Toothbrush
This Vet's Best brand toothbrush can be used on dogs can cats. It comes with ten soft finger brushes in one pet pack. While many finger brushes are difficult to use because they fall off easily, this brand has a non-slip design to make it much more clingy to your finger. The moldable material is supposed to stick to your finger while you use this brush to target the hardest-to-reach areas in your dog's mouth.
Vet's Best brand boasts the best dental health possible at your fingertips. Using this product can help your dog's oral health in many different ways.
It's very important to use dog toothpaste with this product to ensure your dog gets the most beneficial results for their teeth cleaning. This brush can freshen your dog's breath, and it can be great at removing bacteria on the teeth.
The small bristles in these finger brushes are tough but bendy, making them perfectly safe to use on dogs with sensitive gums. These brushes are also BPA free and soft enough that you can use them on puppies and kittens.
Brands such as Vet's Best are designed to effectively remove plaque and tartar from all areas of your dog's mouth. These can assist you when reaching the back of your dog's canines, although you should still be careful you don't make your dog excessively uncomfortable while you're brushing their teeth.
Oral disease is present in many dogs that have inflamed gums, and finger brushes like these are designed specifically to avoid issues like oral disease and prevent them from developing in your dog's clean mouth.
If you so wish, there is also an enzymatic dental gel toothpaste that Vet's Best sells in a pack with their fingertip toothbrushes often. This article will further explain the benefits of this toothpaste later in more detail, but their canine dental toothpaste is made with the highest-quality plant-based ingredients. Veterinarians and other scientists formulated this toothpaste so it can take the best care of your dog's oral health while you're in between your dog's yearly dental cleaning appointments at their vet clinic.
by Vet’s Best
2. Orgrimmar 2 Pcs Three Sided Pet Toothbrush Dog Brush
This simple but convenient dog brush is an excellent tool when it comes to caring for your pet's oral health needs. This specific product can be used in cats and dogs alike.
Effective brushes offer ways to clean the hardest-to-reach parts of your dog's mouth, and a three-sided pet toothbrush can clean many angles in your dog's mouth with the same brush.
This brush is excellent at freshening up bad breath, and it's a great tool for cleaning the tartar out of your dog's teeth.
An ergonomic design makes this toothbrush line up perfectly with your dog's oral structure. Not all dogs have the same oral structure, but because this brush can effectively clean multiple sides of the same tooth in your pet's mouth, you'll find it much more effective and time-saving than some other brush designs.
This brush is safer and more comfortable for your dog than many other brush styles. The handle is also made of rubber which gives the pet owner more control of the brush as they use it to carefully grasp a tooth.
All oral health needs should be able to be taken care of with this brush type. This product promotes stronger teeth and healthier gums and improves oral hygiene. Since the bristles offer such variety, this brush can be used on small, medium, or large dogs and can work with any dog-specific toothpaste.
Not many pet owners realize they'll need to clean their pet's toothbrush every now and then or just purchase a new brush. This product fixes that nuisance for you since it can be cleaned in a dishwasher and ready to use again.
by Nylabone
3. Nylabone Advanced Oral Care Dental Kits for Dogs & Cats
Some oral care dental kits are recommended by vets, and while they might be excellent in function, dogs shy away from the clean tastes. Nylabone advanced oral care dental kits thought of this issue and created multiple flavors so your dog can enjoy the taste of their clean teeth. Dog owners can purchase original flavor, peanut butter flavor, or bacon flavor toothpaste in these kits to make sure their pet doesn't shy away from teeth brushing sessions.
This brush is great for dogs, but it should only be used on adult dog teeth. In fact, this toothbrush is specially designed with impressive angles to the person using the toothbrush can get a better reach on their pet's teeth.
Vets recommend this kit because of how effectively it promotes healthy teeth and gums. The 2.5-ounce bottle of canine toothpaste contains denta-C, which is scientifically proven to reduce any plaque that can harbor harmful bacteria in your pet's mouth.
Although this kit comes with a special brush, it also has a dog finger brush to really remove any tough tartar stuck on your pet's teeth. Plaque and food debris can get trapped in your dog's mouth, and this can then become tartar which can lead to swollen gums and dental disease, so it's important to remove as much food debris, plaque, and tartar as possible with this product.
Vets recommend this product because of how advanced the oral care products are and how efficient they are in keeping your pet's teeth clean and their breath fresh. Pet parents support these vet's claims, and this brand even says that their dental kits make dental cleaning simple and convenient.
by Arm & Hammer
4. Arm & Hammer for Pets Tartar Control Kit for Dogs-Contains Toothpaste
A famous brand like Arm & Hammer is known for many things, but you may not know how good their dental health care products are for dogs. Their dental cleaning kit is an excellent tool that includes a dog toothbrush, finger brush, and toothpaste. As with the previous dental kit, pet owners have the choice to pick between three flavors for their dog's toothpaste, a vanilla ginger flavor, a banana mint flavor, or a beef flavor.
The soft bristles and natural ingredients of the toothpaste make this kit safe to use on dogs in all life stages. No matter your pet's age, it can help promote healthier gums and reduce tartar buildup while eliminating bad breath.
Removing bacteria, plaque, and tartar lets your dog's teeth shine whiter and bright as they become healthier. If your pet is struggling with swollen gums or the first stage of dental disease, this Arm & Hammer dental kit can be the saving grace to all of your pet's oral health issues.
The tools in this kit are easy to use, and they come with accompanying instructions. This brand instructs the wearer to let their dog lick the toothpaste off their fingertip before using then finger toothbrush to gently rub their dog's gum lines. You can then utilize the toothbrush as you gently remove the debris that can get trapped in your pet's mouth.
While some brands might be shy about sharing their ingredient list, Arm & Hammer is a translucent brand and shares all of this information. The toothpaste contains sorbitol, water, hydrated silica, polysorbate 20, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, cellulose gum, sodium chloride, titanium dioxide, flavor, sodium bicarbonate, zinc gluconate, calcium carbonate, lysozyme, proteases, and thymol.
Dental cleaning kits like this product are most effective when they're used two to three times a week. The kit is 100% safe to use and is infused with baking soda that helps clean and deodorizes your dog's mouth. This is part of the reason Arm & Hammer dog toothpaste is so great at whitening your dog's teeth while simultaneously freshening their breath.
This product is formulated for tartar control thanks to the toothpaste, dual-head toothbrush, and finger toothbrush in this kit. Dog owners have everything they need to successfully maintain their dog's oral health. Using this kit can help you keep up with your dog's dental care at home and help keep their inflame and sensitive gums under control.
by Arm & Hammer
5. Vet's Best Enzymatic Dog Toothpaste
Vet's Best brand is great for their toothbrush, but their toothpaste is also majorly helpful when it comes to caring for your pet's oral health. This vet formulated gel toothpaste is one of the most soothing and effective products on the market.
Aloe vera, neem oil, grapefruit seed extract, baking soda, and other enzymes effectively freshen your dog's breath. These ingredients also work together to gently clean any plaque and tartar away. There are a number of flavors you can purchase, so you fit your dog's taste preferences.
It's very important to use this toothpaste multiple times a week to ensure your pet keeps a healthy dental regiment going. This toothpaste can whiten and brighten your dog's teeth as you use it to support your pet's dental hygiene between their regular annual veterinarian dental cleanings.
There are three effective ways to apply this toothpaste. You can use it simply as a breath control tool, which is a great option if you're busy and don't have time to give your pet a proper teeth cleaning. Simply dab some toothpaste directly onto your dog's tongue to freshen their breath.
If you want to use finger application, put the finger toothbrush head on your pointer finger and apply some gel toothpaste to rub your pet's teeth and gums. This can get added cleaning control and might benefit their gums if they are swollen or irritated.
The best results, according to the Vet's Best brand, come from regular toothbrush applications. Using a regular dog toothbrush with this gel toothpaste effectively cleans any food debris, bacteria, plaque, or tartar off of your dog's teeth.
by Vet’s Best
Conclusion
Pet toothpaste and dog toothbrushes can change the results of your dog's oral health. The best toothbrush will be able to clean difficult spots in your pet's mouth. You want to find something that won't irritate your pet's gum line but something that still prevents gum disease. Thankfully many products like the ones listed above exist and are excellent at maintaining your pet's oral health care. Plus, pet owners can always use a dental chew treat to help their pet's teeth anytime their owner is too busy to keep up with their dog's dental hygiene.
Dog owners shouldn't stress out about finding the perfect dental tools for their dogs. Many of these tools offer similar products, and the most important part is to try to find a toothpaste flavor and brush type that your pet is most comfortable with. The more comfortable your dog gets with teeth brushings, the easier it will be to clean their teeth, and the better the results will be. As long as you regularly put in the effort to care for your dog's oral health and you take them to their annual professional dental cleanings, your dog's teeth are going to remain in great shape.
