A Toothbrush a Day Keeps the Vet Away: Why Dogs & Cats Need Annual Dentals
- Schroeck Veterinary Care
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Author: Sabrina Collado, VT February 2026
Have you recently noticed that your dog’s kisses smell like something crawled out of a dumpster, or your cat’s breath is a mix of sulfur and rotten tuna? Well, it might be time to discuss dental health for your fur babies, and yes that means annual dental cleanings!
Similarly to us, pets build up tarter and plaque on their teeth and under their gums, leading to dental disease. Plaque is a sticky buildup of bacteria forming on the surface of the teeth. It mineralizes in saliva hardening into calculus causing gingival inflammation, also known as gingivitis, and eventually leading to infection. This process beings as quickly as 24 hours after eating. The difference between us and our pets is they don’t have the ability to brush their teeth twice a day. Let’s chew over why yearly dental cleanings matter and why “no anesthesia” dentals are not always the safest, shortcut-way that makes dental disease go away, as they are often perceived to be.
🪥 Annual Dentals = Preventative Care
Generally, the expected time that our pets are due to have their first dental cleaning is between 2-3 years of age. This time frame can be heavily influenced on the breed, genetic history, and any at home preventative care routines implemented early on. Not only does dental disease cause bad breath, but it can lead to our pets experiencing oral pain and difficulty eating. Signs that dental disease is progressing are: bad breath, hypersalivation, bleeding from the mouth, difficulty eating or decreased appetite, and even swelling around the mouth or under the eyes. Being diligent and having annual oral exams performed regularly by your veterinarian is a great place to start in keeping your pet’s dental health.
🐾 Benefits of Annual Dental Cleanings:
Prevents painful gum disease
Reduces the likelihood of tooth loss
Helps catch hidden problems (fractured teeth, abscesses, resorptive lesions in cats, etc.)
Improves overall health—oral bacteria can affect the heart, liver, and kidneys
Fresher breath = better snuggles, improving the human-animal bond
🐈 The Teeth Cleaning Process
Advances in veterinary anesthesia have made procedures safer than ever before. Especially with the preliminary diagnostics, tailored drug protocols, and continuous monitoring of the pet’s vital signs including heart rate, respiration rate, blood pressure, and temperature during the procedure, all have made anesthesia much safer than we think. Having a professional dental cleaning under anesthesia allows veterinary professionals to complete a comprehensive periodontal assessment by taking full mouth dental radiographs. Full mouth dental radiographs give us a complete picture of not only the visible aspects of the teeth, but also what is hiding underneath the gumline. Approximately two-thirds of your pet’s tooth is located below the gum line, and only one- third is what is visible when just looking inside their mouth. Being able to take dental radiographs really helps identify the severity, or “grade”, of dental disease. After the dental radiographs are completed, a thorough oral exam of the entire mouth is done. If no pathology (such as gingival pockets, enamel fractures, abscesses, etc.) is found, a comprehensive dental cleaning and polishing is done to remove the tarter, plaque, and calculus that is present, and create a smooth surface on the tooth to discourage bacteria from adhering to the enamel’s surface. Often, the risk of untreated dental disease outweighs the risk of anesthesia for most healthy pets.
🚩 The Truth About “Anesthesia Free Dentals”
The word “anesthesia” can sound scary. But, “anesthesia free dentals” pose many other risks. Thorough veterinary dental care simply cannot be carried out unless anesthesia is used. Unlike human dentists, veterinarians do not have the luxury of asking our pets to open their mouth and say “Ahhh”. For a dental procedure to be worth the investment and the experience for your pet, it should be performed under anesthesia and supervised by a licensed veterinarian. This ensures a complete cleaning and accurate assessment of oral health that cannot be achieved while a pet is awake. There are many contraindications of no anesthesia dentals, a significant one being that only what is seen is what can be cleaned. Which again, is only one-third of the tooth surface. Since dental x-rays are unable to be performed without anesthesia, there is a high likelihood of gingival infections, root fractures, and tartar build-up under the gingival margin going untreated. No anesthesia dental cleanings could leave your pet with dental disease still present and wasted funds. The scariest part is the risk of injury this type of procedure can impose on your pets. The same dental tools and electronic scalers that are used at our dentists are used in veterinary dentistry as well. Movement from a pet can cause injury, leading to secondary complications such as risk of infection and pain. This type of “dental” gives a false sense of security leading to progressing dental disease that was thought to be treated.
😁 At Home Care and Promoting Oral Health
The most effective method of home care for preventing dental disease is routine teeth brushing. Using Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) approved dental products, like Virbac C.E.T enzymatic toothpaste with a soft bristled toothbrush, to brush every day can delay the dental disease process significantly. In addition, to brushing teeth there are other options to help with reducing tarter, such as:
o Dental diets (Purina DH, Hills t/d, or Royal Canine Dental)
o Dental chews or treats (C.E.T Veggiedents, Tarter Shield Cat Treats, OraVet or Vetradent chews)
o Water additives (Aquadent, Breathalyzer, or Vetradent)
o Dental Wipes (Vetradent Dental Wipes, Maxi/Guard Oral Cleansing Wipes)
All of these products and MORE can be found and purchased on MyVetStore Online: https://svetcare.myvetstoreonline.pharmacy/shop
Here is a link that will take you directly to the list of all VOHC approved products:
🚩 Need to Schedule Your Pet for a Dental Exam?
Schroeck Veterinary Care performs dental procedures Monday – Thursday! If you feel your pet may be in need of a dental cleaning, call us at 321-482-4838! We will schedule your pet for a dental exam and get your pet’s dental health journey rolling!
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