September is the month to care about your pet′s teeth

Brushing your teeth is a crucial part of everyday life for most people but would you be prepared to do the same with your cat or dog?

The PetSmile campaign begins tomorrow and runs for the whole of September in an attempt to encourage owners to take better care of their animals’ teeth.

Doggy dental hygiene is possibly the most over-looked area of pet care and apart from an occasional uninvited whiff of halitosis, many owners are completely ignorant to what is going-on in the mouths of their animals.

Now the PetSmile drive, which was the idea of vet Bob Partridge from Harrogate, is attempting to change all of that with almost 1500 veterinary practices throughout the UK getting onboard with the scheme to offer free dental check-ups to pets all through September.

According to the PetSmile website “a frighteningly high percentage of our pets are in urgent need of dental treatment”. Often animals have unseen infections and irritations in their mouths which are a hub for unnoticed diseases that can spread throughout the pets’ bodies.

Both dogs and cats are susceptible to the same periodontal disease as humans. Tartar build-up can cause infection which often leads to pain, wobbly teeth, bad breath, increased the susceptibility to other diseases, and a reduced quality of life. These things can be avoided by regularly your pet’s teeth.

This campaign has now been running for more than 10 years and believes that tooth-brushing time for pets and owners can be a fun experience for both parties. PetSmile have even got special pet toothbrushes and toothpaste four four-legged friends, as human toothpaste can be harmful to animals.

So get your pets down the vets and remember to brush Fido’s teeth after you’ve groomed his coat.

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