Dental Diet

Commercial dental diets are available for dogs and cats and when fed as a complete diet have been shown to result in less plaque, calculus and gingival inflammation than a control group of animals fed another commercial dry food. It is important though when recommended one of these diets to check that the claims are substantiated by peer reviewed, in vivo tests. Dental diets have two mechanisms of action – one is a mechanical, the other chemical. Some diets have a patented fibre matrix technology which allows the kibble to maintain contact with the tooth surface, providing mechanical cleansing. There are no abrasives or active chemicals in the kibble. Standard dry pet foods immediately crumble when chewed therefore providing little mechanical removal of plaque compared to this kibble. Other dental diets have kibbles that are of a larger size than their standard kibble and claim to have a mechanical plaque removing effect through the kibble texture shape. Some dental diets also claim to control dental accumulations by the addition of sodium tripolyphosphate to the kibble. Sodium tripolyphosphate binds to salivary calcium, resulting in less available for tartar formation. Some vets advocate a raw meaty bone diet. Unfortunately the benefits of the chewing action associated with a raw diet are so often outweighed by the negative effects such as fractured teeth, foreign body obstructions as well as the risks of gastrointestinal infections such as Salmonella and Campylobacter.