Teeth Cleaning

I noticed Kingston has some very bad tartar buildup on two of his front teeth (the pointy teeth). I'm surprised because he is an extremely aggressive chewer and loves his nylabones. I thought chewing was supposed to help prevent the buildup? Anyway, he has dark yellow staining at the gumline on those two teeth. He will be two years old on May 3rd of this year. What is the typical age for a dog to have his first teeth cleaning? How often are you supposed to do it? Should I try to find a vet that performs teeth cleanings without anesthesia????

I also brush Kingston's teeth, but I think perhaps he is just prone to tartar. Are some dogs more prone than others?

Yes some are more prone than others and are more prone to gum disease as well. Jaspar and Leo have the same sire, are the same general age (5 weeks apart), get the same food and chews etc and Jaspar's teeth are much better than Leo's. Teeth cleanings would depend more on buildup and the need for them, than an age, I would think. Some people do try to find those who can clean without anesthetic but there aren't too many vets that do this as far as I have seen.

Yeah I think that it may vary from dog to dog.

If you can see visible yellow, it is a good idea to get them cleaned in the not too distant future, as this tartar build-up is the cause of gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). Gingivitus in turn can cause to the loss of teeth. We recently had Sonny & Beau done. Beau has an overbite so his back teeth are probably going to need attention annually. Sonny is 3 years old and we adopted him 12 months ago. His teeth were a bit on the yellow side when we got him and I think the yellowing progressed through the year. Our vet did anaethatise them both for the procedure and he used an ultrasonic cleaner to remove the plaque.

Mine were all feed the same, but While Monty ddidn't need a dental until he was ten, izzy had to have regulrs from about four. Teddy's teeth are good, but Joly had to have extractions at age three. Typically , the two with horrible teeth refused to have brushing done, but none of the other things (gel, frageria, Plaque-off ) worked.

However, everyone has nice teeth now, thanks to a daily fish skin cube or roll. Their front teeth do tend to go yellowy though, as it's the back teeth which get cleaned by chewing. I clean up the front teeth by feeding through crate bars or holding something like a vegetable chew or piece of vegetable, so they have to nibble instead of tearing off a piece.

Not only are his teeth yellow at the gumline, there is also some black discoloration as well. What does this mean?

If it is yellow and soft at the gum line it is usually plaque. Tartar is hard (and it can be dark) and can be scaled off a tooth in sheets. Our rescue needs a dental and I still have a couple of dogs that are borderline.