Apparently, September is officially Pet Smile Month, so I decided to use this opportunity to discuss this very important but often overlooked area of petcare.

Molly recently had to take some medication for a sore paw, it was a big beef flavored tablet which she seemed to love the taste of and gobbled up right out of my hand! I was shocked later when I happened to see what I thought was some of the beefy tablet stuck to her back teeth, but was in fact tartar build up. Her front teeth are nice and clean from regular chewy dog treats and her rope toy fascination so I didn’t think to check the back ones, I feel like such a bad owner!

PetSmile week aims to encourage pet owners to “lift the lip” and check their pet’s teeth regularly, you can’t see the teeth so you never know what’s lurking back there. Ideally, you would get your pet used to having their teeth brushed with a special pet toothpaste and brush several times a week from an early age, but this isn’t always possible and some pets simply don’t like brushing and will not allow it, especially cats!

Thankfully there are other options available. One of the bestselling products in our pet supplies department is Plaque Off – an all natural seaweed formula that you simply add to your pets food. You should see results within a few weeks, I highly recommend it.

If even a few weeks seems too long, to help with the dreaded “dog breath kiss” we have some nifty products that require no brushing such as this tropiclean Clean Teeth Gel kit. To help with halitosis our Fresh Breath Foam and Fresh Breath Water Additive work a treat, without harming your pet (or anyone elses as the range is cruelty free!)

With some simple additions to your petcare routine you can go a long way to preventing dental disease, which if left untreated can spread to other parts of the body including major organs. As well as the plaque prevention suggestions above, regular access to a chew toy can also help dislodge tartar. And of course, diet is very important. The better the quality of your dog food or cat food, the better condition your pet’s teeth (and the rest of him!) will be in.