# Wet food and teeth health



## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I have never fed wet food, it's unnecessary calories and it also can cause tooth problems.
Dry kibble is much better along with regular teeth cleaning and bones.


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## pawsnpaca (Nov 11, 2014)

You might find these articles interesting.


How Does Food Affect the Dental Health of Dogs? | Can Foods Keep Dogs' Teeth Healthy? | PetMD











Dry Dog Food and the Myth of Cleaner Teeth


Can eating kibble really produce cleaner teeth and prevent canine dental disease? Learn the surprising truth about dry dog food.




www.dogfoodadvisor.com





My own experience is with kibble versus a commercial raw diet (which is the same consistency of most canned diets). When I feed my dogs a kibble meal, I don’t hear any crunching sounds, so I suspect it goes down whole (verified by the few times they later vomit it up). If so, I doubt it’s doing ANYTHING to keep their teeth clean. The same is true of the raw (there’s not much chewing going on). I also notice that when my dogs eat a biscuit or are fed slowly enough that they do chew the kibble, I find pasty food goo on their molars (sort of like if we ate crackers without water). To me that says that any scraping action by chewing the dry kibble is cancelled out by the pasty food that sits on the outside of the molars.

If you are concerned about keeping your dogs teeth clean, then the best thing to do would be to brush them every day and/or give them appropriate things to chew on (raw knuckle bones, Nylabones, or chews designed specifically for a dog’s dental health). Unless your dog chews his kibble, or you choose to fed the kind of raw diet where you dog is actually eating animal body parts (chicken backs, turkey necks, etc), I don’t think you’ll see much difference in dental health for a canned versus kibble diet.

As for the question about frequency… I don’t think there’s a hard and fast rule. I think historically I’ve switched my puppies to two meals a day between 4 and 6 months. But even as adults, I sometimes add a lunch if I think they’re getting too thin. I don’t like to feed large meals due to bloat concerns (something else you should research if it’s not something you are already familiar with).

Since you are currently feeding a grain free diet you should also read up on the potential connection between grain free diets and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), although it looks like your current food does not include legumes (peas, etc) which is the current theorized cause of lower taurine absorption).


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

Kibble does not clean teeth any better than wet food. 

I give three or four meals a day. It does not mean she gets more food since I measure her daily portion in the morning. I would keep a four months old on three meals a day.


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## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

Thanks all 

I'll try to get him chewing more. He swallows Royal Canin GR Puppy kibble whole so I don't kibble acts as a cleaning agent. The only thing I have seen him "chew" in a human sense is when he bites through softer dog chews but those are sold for adults only. I sometimes put dog toothpaste on a chew; apparently putting the paste on a paw is good enough for cats ..


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## Taz Monkey (Feb 25, 2007)

Howler said:


> Thanks all
> 
> I'll try to get him chewing more. He swallows Royal Canin GR Puppy kibble whole so I don't kibble acts as a cleaning agent. The only thing I have seen him "chew" in a human sense is when he bites through softer dog chews but those are sold for adults only. I sometimes put dog toothpaste on a chew; apparently putting the paste on a paw is good enough for cats ..


Dogs mouths and teeth are not made for chewing, they're made for ripping an tearing. So I would imagine that your efforts to teach your dog to chew are going to be futile. But as far as wet vs. dry, neither will clean or not clean teeth. I feed raw. I also brush their teeth fairly often.


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## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

Taz Monkey said:


> Dogs mouths and teeth are not made for chewing, they're made for ripping an tearing. So I would imagine that your efforts to teach your dog to chew are going to be futile. But as far as wet vs. dry, neither will clean or not clean teeth. I feed raw. I also brush their teeth fairly often.


That makes sense.

Most of his teeth are clean, but I've noticed his last molars are dirty. I cannot get my finger between them. Do you use a human toothbrush to reach back there?


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Howler said:


> That makes sense.
> 
> Most of his teeth are clean, but I've noticed his last molars are dirty. I cannot get my finger between them. Do you use a human toothbrush to reach back there?


Amazon and other retailers that sell pet supplies, have dog toothbrushes, finger brushes, and toothpaste available.


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## Howler (Feb 4, 2021)

I have a finger brush and toothpaste. He can pull the finger brush off my finger, so that seems a flawed idea. If we could just make bushing teeth fun..


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Howler said:


> I have a finger brush and toothpaste. He can pull the finger brush off my finger, so that seems a flawed idea. If we could just make bushing teeth fun..


Work (train) with your dog to get him comfortable with you putting your fingers or a tooth brush in his mouth. 
Use treats, let him sniff the toothbrush or finger brush, let him taste the toothpaste. 

You may need to use something like Peanut butter, put it on the toothbrush/finger brush, let your dog sniff it, lick it, then put it in his mouth. Once he's comfortable with the toothbrush/finger brush in his mouth, use the toothpaste. 

There are bigger finger brushes available besides the small ones that dogs can pull off. 

There are all kinds of training videos available online that will show you how to work with your dog to clean his teeth.


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## SRW (Dec 21, 2018)

Thalie said:


> Kibble does not clean teeth any better than wet food.


In my experience it does. Some dogs simply gulp and swallow their food and it would make little difference for them. 
I feed Jake wet at field trials or any occasion that I feel he needs extra hydration. If I do that for any extended period of time his teeth get quite dirty. Feeding dry cleans them up in just a few days. 
Just like people, dogs teeth vary, some get dirty very easily and some never do.


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## Thalie (Jan 20, 2008)

SRW said:


> In my experience it does. Some dogs simply gulp and swallow their food and it would make little difference for them.
> I feed Jake wet at field trials or any occasion that I feel he needs extra hydration. If I do that for any extended period of time his teeth get quite dirty. Feeding dry cleans them up in just a few days.
> Just like people, dogs teeth vary, some get dirty very easily and some never do.


"Some dry diets have added compounds on the outside of the kibble to help reduce tartar build-up on the teeth, which may be beneficial for some dogs, but unless you are feeding a dry food specifically made for dental health, these benefits may be subtle. " 
Source : Canned or wet - Tufts 2016


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