Dog Dental Care Without Brushing

If your dog or cat will not let you clean their teeth, then one of these 5 Home Remedies can help. Dr Jones’ dog Tula won’t let him brush or hand scale her teeth, so he is starting with these remedies now.

Dog Dental Home Remedies
1. Aloe Vera
2. Coconut Oil
3. Propolis
4. Plaque OFF
5. Natural Mouth Wash: 1/2 cup green tea, 1 teaspoon honey

Your dog needs dental care but they just won’t let you do anything in their mouth? Tula recently had a dental scale and polish and she had a pile of tartar. Her teeth are now white and shiny, her gums look great but Tula she hates having things done to her teeth. I want her to avoid having another anesthesia for Dental scale and polish so here’s some things I’m going to try that could work for your dog or cat as well.

1. Aloe Vera

Aloe vera is a great natural anti-inflammatory. A 2016 study showed it was specifically beneficial for gingivitis and decreasing plaque production. The liquid in the gel is both safe to use topically on the teeth and the gums so squirt out some of the aloe vera gel into a bowl. Then you can put some

of it on your finger, in the morning and night, and rub this gel all along the edge of your dog’s teeth and gum line.

2. Coconut oil

Coconut oil is a wonderful natural product, it’s got specific ingredients that make it a natural anti-inflammatory. Scotch also has things such as lauric acid making it an effective natural antibacterial. A 2015 study showed specific benefits of applying topical coconut oil to the mouth to decrease levels of gingivitis, it tastes good , and it has health benefits. Another really good alternative to dogs like Tula and or cats that hate getting their teeth brushed. Just get a little bit on your finger, lift up their lips and rub it on the gum line. Especially focus on those teeth at the back, the upper fourth premolar. Those molars that are hard to get to, those are the ones where I find that small dogs in particular build up a lot of Tartar and that was what happened with Tula. Give it at least 60 days before you can assess whether it’s being beneficial or not.

3. Propolis

Propolis which is also known as bee glue. Bees need to glue up their hives to keep them safe and warm, the product that they create to do that is called this propolis. It’s got a whole array of different medicinal properties, a very effective natural antibacterial and an effective anti-inflammatory. We’re also using it for allergies and it has also been shown to be beneficial for mouth disease, in particular gingivitis. I really like that it comes in the form of a spray, so if your dog has a bit of a sore throat, just spray a little down their throat. Make sure you get into the back of the mouth, in particular focusing on the tooth and gum lines.

Link on Amazon

4. Plaque OFF

This is a natural product that comes from seaweed, it’s called plaque off. There’s specific ingredients in the seaweed which decreases the level of bacteria in the mouth which also decreases the level plaque. This makes it more difficult for that bacteria to adhere to the teeth and turn from plaque into tartar. We used plaque off a lot in practice, we found for many of these dogs and cats that had gingivitis dental disease, this is one of the few products that really works. Use a tool on this because I I just cannot brush your teeth like I’m hoping this is going to be the ticket. The dose is really small, for a small dog and cat it’s half a scoop a day. It’s a teeny little scooper and that’s all Tula’s going to get daily because it’s seaweed which is rich in iodine so you don’t want to be giving it to any cat that is hypothyroid. A reasonable amount of time to test if it works is a 90-day trial or three months.

Link on Amazon

5. Natural Mouth Wash

This is a home remedy involving flushing. Make 1/2 a cup of green and 1tsp (teaspoon) of unpasteurized honey. Let the green tea sit and steep for about 15 or 20 minutes so it’s lukewarm. The teaspoon of unpasteurized honey is something that you can make ahead of time, keep it in the fridge refrigerated.

I’m going to be making a fresh batch every three days. Green tea has an array of different medicinal properties but in particular it’s a very effective natural antibacterial. It’s been studied and shown to be effective for oral health, in particular for gingivitis. Honey’s been extensively studied as a well documented natural antibacterial so the two of them make a great combination as a natural effective antibacterial mouthwash. I’ve got a handy dandy little 5cc or five mil syringe. Draw five mils up into the syringe and then squirt this along the teeth. Make it a bit of a forceful mouthwash because you want to rinse the teeth,  especially the back molars. Tula’s not a fan but I just squirted it all along the top of her teeth and her gum line. When you put force with the syringe on your dog’s mouth, like along that tooth and the gum line, you’re manually removing some of the plaque which is what we want. I know she won’t let me brush or scale her teeth so I’m doing the next best thing. There’s one large human study that showed a huge benefit of green tea for just general periodontal health and they showed a direct correlation between the amount of green tea consumed and how healthy your gums are after.

Start with one to two remedies first and then assess after 60 to 90 days whether it’s really helping or not.

Dr. Jones, DVM