Are you looking after your dog’s teeth?
The issue of the oral hygiene of pets is one that has come to the fore in recent years.
Unsurprisingly only 1% of dog owners take the unpleasant step of brushing their dog’s teeth everyday. However 77% bought dental treats that claimed to achieve the same goal, but in a less messy fashion.
The dental treats in question have until now been utterly unregulated, therefore the quality of treats claimed to clean the teeth of pets can vary wildly and the consumer is none the wiser. According to Dr Jan Bellows, president of the American Veterinary Dental College, ‘There are a variety of pet treats and foods that claim to clean teeth, but not all products provide significant benefit.’
The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) has taken steps to address this recently, launching a Seal of Acceptance after the fashion of the American Dental Association seal on toothpaste for human consumption.
In order to earn this seal of approval the treats in question are required to pass stringent tests of their ability to reduce dental plaque and tartar in pets.
These tests are modeled after clinical trials used for human patients, consisting of a control and test group. To illustrate this, if a dental treat for dogs was being tested, two groups of dogs with clean teeth would be selected. Each group would be fed dry food for a 30-day period; one of the groups would be given the treat being tested and one of the groups only food. At the end of the trial period the dog’s teeth would be examined for plaque and tartar residue, if the test group had eminently cleaner teeth than the control, the treat would pass the test and earn the seal of approval.
‘The VOHC seal confirms a product is efficacious in reducing buildup of plaque and tartar, the leading cause of oral disease, which can reduce a pet’s healthy lifespan,’’ said Dr Bellows. ‘Walk into any pet store and you will find dozens of treats that claim to clean teeth. While it’s easy to make teeth-cleaning claims, formulating a treat that significantly protects teeth is difficult. The VOHC seal is there to help pet owners and veterinarians recognize which products are proven to work.’
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