Maintaining good dental health is essential for your cat's overall well-being. Poor oral hygiene can lead to plaque buildup and periodontal disease, and even more serious health conditions affecting the heart, liver, and kidneys. Periodontal disease, also known as dental disease, is one of the most common ailments in dogs and cats, with estimates suggesting that over 2/3 of dogs and cats over the age of 3 years have some form of dental disease. Thankfully, there are several ways to promote your feline friend's oral health, and one excellent place to start is with a dental diet.
Understanding Feline Dental Disease
Dental disease can start out as gingivitis caused by plaque and tartar buildup on the teeth and under the gum line. It often progresses to a point where it destroys the bone and eventually causes painful tooth loss. Because dental disease often has few readily apparent signs, bringing your pet in for a wellness examination is the only way to ensure detection.
Some common signs and symptoms of dental disease include bad breath, drooling, oral pain, difficulty chewing, red swollen gums, and loss of appetite. If you notice any of these in your pet, it’s very important that you get them examined by a veterinarian. They will be able to look at their mouth and tell you the state of the teeth and if they need a dental cleaning or some teeth extracted.
What are Feline Dental Health Diets?
Feline dental health diets are pet foods designed to prevent oral diseases in cats. They are an adjunctive and not comprehensive treatment for dental disease. These diets often come in dry kibble form and are specially formulated to promote oral hygiene through various mechanisms.
Key Features of Dental Diets
1. Specially Designed Kibble
Dental diets have specially formulated kibbles that are usually bigger than your average size kibble. This allows deeper tooth penetration that extends contact time between the kibble and the tooth, and acts as a scrubbing action for a greater cleaning effect. This reduces the bacteria-laden plaque. The pet must also chew the kibble more because of its size, increasing its effect on the teeth. The fiber matrix of the kibble resists crumbling. Kibble size is also an important factor when creating a dental diet.
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2. Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) Approval
When looking for dental diets and treats for cats, the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) is a useful indicator to determine the efficacy of a product. The VOHC helps veterinarians and owners choose effective products to help decrease the accumulation of plaque and/or calculus. The VOHC seal of approval award signifies that the product has met preset standards for the control of plaque and tartar. AAHA supports the scientific methodology employed by the VOHC.
3. Complete and Balanced Nutrition
Dental diets are complete and balanced nutritional diets that can be used as an adult maintenance diet. Veterinary exclusive dental diets serve many purposes. They offer proper everyday nutrition for the average adult cat and dog with the added benefit of working to clean their teeth and prevent future dental issues.
Examples of Dental Diets
Here are a few examples of dental diets available on the market:
- Hills t/d: It’s a complete and balanced nutritional diet that can be used as an adult maintenance diet. It has the Veterinary Oral Health Council seal of approval award for the control of plaque and tartar.
- Royal Canin Dental: It’s a complete and balanced nutritional diet that can be used as an adult maintenance diet.
- Purina Pro Plan Dental Health: It is a complete and balanced nutrition that can be used as an adult or senior maintenance diet. It has a smaller kibble size compared to the other dental diets that is optimal for everyday feeding. It has the Veterinary Oral Health Council seal of approval award for the control of plaque.
Other Dietary Considerations for Feline Dental Health
While dental diets are a great tool for promoting oral health, other dietary approaches can also play a role:
Dry Cat Food: Some dry cat foods are specially designed to help clean teeth while chewing. These kibbles are larger and have a specific texture that encourages cats to bite through the pieces, which helps scrape away plaque and tartar. Many veterinary dental diets also contain ingredients that inhibit certain minerals from forming calculus on the crown of a tooth.
Read also: Guide to Raw Feeding for Cats
Wet Food: While wet food is often associated with less dental cleaning action than kibble, it still plays an essential role in oral health. Some wet food formulas contain ingredients that help reduce tartar buildup.
Raw Diets: Some cat owners opt for raw diets that include raw meaty bones, such as chicken necks or wings, to provide natural teeth-cleaning benefits. The mechanical action of chewing raw bones can help reduce plaque and tartar. However, raw feeding should be approached with caution and under veterinary supervision to ensure a balanced diet and prevent risks associated with bacteria or bone fragments.
Dental Treats: Dental treats specifically designed for cats can complement their diet and support oral hygiene. Many of these treats contain ingredients that help prevent plaque formation and freshen breath. Offering supplemental treats to pets can be an important part of the human-animal bond. However, choosing treats that support oral health is also helpful. There is a broad array of treats that have been accepted by the VOHC to decrease plaque and calculus accumulation.
Homemade Meals: Some pet owners choose to prepare homemade meals tailored to their cat’s needs. While this can be beneficial when done correctly, it requires careful planning to ensure all essential nutrients are included. Some homemade diets incorporate fibrous meats or other ingredients that naturally promote dental health.
The Importance of a Multifaceted Approach
While dental diets reduce your pet’s risk of developing advanced dental disease, they do not prevent it. Some pets accumulate tartar and suffer from gingivitis more than other pets. It needs to be emphasized that dental health diets for cats are adjunctive and not comprehensive treatments for dental disease.
Read also: Is Hill's Science Diet Oral Care Worth It?
Regular Brushing
Despite the effectiveness of dental diets, it is firstly and always strongly encouraged to brush your pet’s teeth on a daily basis or, at the very least, every 3 days, with a pet safe VOHC toothpaste. Use a cat-safe toothbrush and toothpaste to remove plaque. This is a challenge. Frankly, most cats do not allow their teeth to be brushed.
Professional Veterinary Dental Care
It should be stressed that dental health diets, treats and water additives for cats will never remove the need for regular dental care by your veterinarian. This involves at least annual oral evaluations, but ideally every 6 months. These evaluations are almost always combined with complete dental examinations, full mouth dental radiographs and dental cleanings under anesthesia. This should be done at least annually, but some cats require dental cleanings under anesthesia twice a year. Typically, after the age of 2 or 3, cats will need a dental cleaning every 1 to 2 years - if performed prior to dental disease, this is called a prophylaxis - meaning that it will prevent or delay the onset of disease. Following this exam, your veterinarian may recommend a particular dental cleaning schedule, oral care routine, or special treatment based on your pet's dental health needs. Since your cat's adult teeth will have all come in at around 6 months of age, we also recommend that your cat visit for a fluoride application at that time. Fluoride helps strengthen tooth enamel and this visit also allows us to assess whether your cat has any retained baby teeth or missing adult teeth that could cause problems in the mouth later on. Some kittens even have some plaque or tartar buildup at this age!