Cleaning animals' teeth, silly or necessary?

We haven't done this. I suppose probably should be we don't. We do buy our dog those dental treats though.

Animals are mammals just like people and if we have to clean our teeth wouldn't that mean they do to? I don't clean my cats teeth because he'd kill me, but my vets try to get me to have dental work done on him. I'd really like to, but it's just really expensive (like $300) that I just don't have. But if I had the money I'd take great care of his teeth (I don't even have the money to take care of my own! Besides brushing daily of course!)

It is very helpful if your animals want to cooperate. It is so hard for me to do it for my dogs. My cat doesn't care so I can clean her teeth once a while.

Our pets teeth is one of the stories of my life! Many years ago I remember the vet selling us a special toothpaste & brush to clean our dogs teeth. As if I could do that. No dog would let me open his mouth & let me stick a brush in it with foul tasting stuff on it. I learnt my lesson years later. One dog & cat after another had dental problems. Some problems required their teeth to be professionally cleaned, under an expensive anasthetic of course. Other dental problems were so bad, that teeth had to be removed. This always happened when the pets were old. The vets kept telling me give my cats raw chicken wings, but none of my cats would chew them. Last year my mini fox terrier went to the vet to have her teeth cleaned. When I went to pick her up, 13 teeth had been extracted.I was shocked!! She was only three years old. Now she has to chew special teeth cleaning foods.

Yes i sure believe in cleaning your dogs teeth..I have a small dog,when she was born and her teeth came in, she never lost her baby teeth, she just grew another set, so she has 2 sets of teeth..She closes her mouth and you cannot tell but when she opens her mouth she looks like she is just all teeth, and it looks funny, but she is really cute...Anyway when i took her to the vet for her shots , i ask the vet and he said one set needs to be pulled out, because her having so many teeth it would cause a lot of tarter buildup, plus it could keep her from eating..I never did that because i did not want to hurt her..Well as it turns out she eats good, having so many teeth has not hindered her from eating, she loves to eat.When i took her back to the vet to have her nuetered, he ask me again, i declined,so i have to brush her teeth because she has so many, and it i don;t her breath smells bad..Sometimes i even give her breath minds...Can you tell she is spoiled rotten??LOL

It is necessary to clean your pets teeth but if you find an easy way to do it, then I'll be glad to clean all 12 of my babies teeth! LOL No I don't do it although I know I should but it's too darned hard trying to get pets to sit still so I gave the idea up a long time ago. I'll let the vet do it when the time comes that it's really needed.

It is very nessary fotr you to properly take care of your animals teeth as it causee bad breath naamongst other disases,so you should clean them at least once aday tom make sure they're teeth are as healthy as possible ,just like yours.Have a super dayn and great topic.

if u have pet at home u should take care all such things , there should not be any dilemma whether u should do or not ,, and if u don't like to do so, i have one sincere request for all those people lease avoid pets

I used to brush my dog's teeth all the time. He ate mostly soft food and couldn't eat hard food in order to clean them. Most dogs and cats will keep their teeth clean and sharp by eating hard food. My cat eats mostly hard food and tuna treats and so her teeth are always clean and very sharp :) "COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS" **AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~

Now if you just put instead of animal as man. Then the awnser you will get will be the identical one to the question you asked. Cause main work of teeth is to eat and animals just chew on everything. So what i feel is their is real necessity for them to have their teeth brushed.

We clean our dogs' teeth regularly... its important for their health. Our 'Old Man' Schnauzer, who is almost 15, was supposed to have lost most of his teeth by age 5... its the nature of the breed. He has only needed 3 pulled. He still has 'dragon breath'... but we don't have to worry about him being in pain.

Hi coffeeshot. Even though I don't have any pet animal, I agree for those pet's owner who cleans up pet's teeth as their teeth also vulnerable to tooth decay problem. Especially for those carnivorous pet, the acidic level contained in their food intake can cause tooth decay. HAPPY DAPPY.

It's definitely a good thing to keep them clean, but working for a vet, I know how overboard the doctors can go with it sometimes! All of my dogs always did perfectly fine with me brushing their teeth a few times a week, and having safe things to chew on. I also would give them Petrodex chews, because they have special enzymes on them that help to clean the teeth even more than the chewing alone. There's also a lot of really great additives you can put in their drinking water that help to remove plaque and bacteria, as well as keep it from forming in the first place. Triple Pet is a really great one that I use. Some vets recommend a dental every year, starting at 1 year of age, which I think is just silly. My dogs had their chews, and toothbrushing sessions with me, and every few years they would go in to get their teeth scaled, just to removed the big pieces that chewing can't reach. Beef knuckle bones get A TON of junk out of their mouths, you'd be amazed!!!

no, i think it is not neccessarily to clean our dog's teeth.becoz they do not each boiled foods.as per the science if a person eat foods without boiling them then there is no need to bresh our teeth also.so need to do that.

I have only tried to brush my dog's teeth a few times, and by that, I mean like twice maybe. She hated it and it honestly wasn't worth the hastle. I get her bones that clean teeth and I guess that is good enough.

Hello coffeeshot. I haven't tried cleaning my dog's teeth, but I do believe that it is necessary that we clean our dog's teeth because they eat a lot just like us humans and it is best that they're teeth are cleaned.