Does brushing your dogs teeth extend their life?It has been said by veterinary dental specialists that if you brush your dog’s or cat’s teeth regularly that they will live to 17 or 18 years old. If you don’t your pet may only live until around age 1
Choose The Right Toothbrush & Toothpaste
Be sure you select a brush size that’s appropriate for your pet’s mouth, and make sure it has soft bristles. Some dogs can’t tolerate a brush. If that’s the case, there are alternative cleaning tools you can use.
Consider a finger-tip brush or gauze wrapped around a finger instead.
Do not use human toothpaste! It’s not tasty to dogs, but more importantly, it’s sudsy and meant to be rinsed out and not swallowed.
Pet toothpastes formulated for dogs are enzymatic, meaning that they offer greater cleansing action on both plaque and food debris, and they can be swallowed.
Most dogs prefer meat-flavored toothpastes such as beef or chicken. Start with a small sample to find a flavor your dog likes.
3 Common Brushing Mistakes to Avoid
Easy way to brush a dog’s teeth
If the thought sounds a little nutty to you — on par with giving your pup a pedicure, perhaps — you might want to have a chat with your vet. Sheâll  probably tell you that regular oral care for your pooch is just as important to its long-term well-being as it is to yours.
Its true that dogs went thousands of years without toothbrushes, oral cleanings, and dental X-rays, but so did people. And our mouths, just like those of our four-legged friends, suffered for it — with gum disease, tooth loss, chronic pain, and more. Also, in those days, people and animals did not live as long as we do today.
Now most of us see the benefit of daily brushing, twice yearly cleanings, and regular dental X-rays for ourselves. And though dogs dont eat the wide range of cavity-causing foods we enjoy, they need regular dental care for many of the same reasons we do:
By the time they are 3 years old, most dogs already show signs of gum disease (also called periodontal disease). As a result, dogs may be at risk for some of the same problems that chronic infection can cause in people, including heart, liver, and kidney problems.
“Pets dont show pain from dental disease,” says Tony M. Woodward, a veterinary dentist in Colorado. “When theyre in pain I wish dogs would paw at their faces or stop eating, but they dont.”
As a matter of fact, your dog can have a mouthful of abscessed teeth and still eat just fine, Woodward says.
“Thats the main reason why people should care about dental problems in pets: It hurts them,” he says.