How to Brush a Dog and Cat’s Teeth

Jeanne demonstrates how to brush a dog’s teeth with her dog Rhea followed by her co-worker who then shows us how to brush a cat’s teeth with her cat Chloe.

She is a founding member and former president of the Academy of Veterinary Dental Technicians – A NAVTA Specialty Group which certifies, trains and mentors credentialed technicians to be specialists in dentistry.

For more answers to common dental care questions click here.

TRANSCRIPT:

In this video I’m going to demonstrate how to brush your dog’s teeth using my very own dog Rhea. I’m going to try using a pet toothbrush with a 360° brush head and I’ve already wet it with some water and I’m going to start by giving Rhea toothpaste to kind of get her started with the process of brushing. So this way she gets a treat, she kind of gets used to the way the toothpaste tastes and I’m going to also smear it on some teeth to kind of get her distracted and use it as a distraction point and then I’m going to put a little bit of toothpaste on my brush. Now you can use this toothbrush with or without toothpaste but I’m going to use it with. You’re going to use one hand to lift her lip and then the other one you’re just going take the brush and do small circular motions with the brush. Yes, your dog will want to eat the toothpaste and make chewing motions, that’s perfectly normal. All you need to do is get the outside surfaces of the teeth, okay. Good girl, Rhea, so lots of positive reinforcement. I’m going to give her some more toothpaste on the other side of the mouth and we’re going to start at the back or you can start at the front, that’s fine, and start using little circular motions to brush the outside surfaces of all the teeth. And that’s all there is to it. Good girl, Rhea.

Here is my co-worker’s cat Chloe having her teeth brushed. Her owner is using a smaller toothbrush made by Virbac that can be used on small dogs and cats. The toothpaste is placed on the brush and Chloe is gently restrained while the toothbrush is placed in the mouth. Her owner is using a sweeping motion from the back of the mouth to the front of the mouth.

Summary

Title

How to Brush a Dog and Cat's Teeth

Description

Jeanne Perrone, MS, CVT, VTS (Dentistry) demonstrates how to brush a dog's teeth with her dog Rhea followed by her co-worker who shows us how to brush a cat's teeth with her cat Chloe.