How Does Poor Dental Care Affect Dog Health?

Regular dental care is essential for dog health. When neglected, poor dental health may cause severe ailments to your furry friend. For many dogs, it may shorten their lifespan for about two years on average. Because of that, veterinarians from Eastshore Vet, the best animal doctor in Madison, recommend maintaining proper hygiene such as daily brushing and scheduling annual check-up. To learn more about how poor dental care affect dog health, you may want to read the following explanation.

How Does Poor Dental Care Affect Dog Health?

When you neglect the health of dog's teeth and gums, you might risk infection. This infection results in inflammation, the first response of the dog's body. Through inflammation, the body attacks bacteria and healthy cells as well. According to experts, it is not the spreading of bacteria that causes the main problem. Inflammation lurks beneath all the issues your dog may encounter when the infection goes too far.

Effects of Gum Infection to Overall Dog Health

‍When gum infection goes unnoticed for too long, the periodontal disease occurs. The disease is irreversible in its nature and may harm surrounding tissues and jaw bones. For some dog breeds such as Chihuahua, Maltese, Shih Tzu, etc., it may lead to a broken jaw. As severe condition per se, periodontal disease causes other harmful diseases like heart disease, kidney failure, diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, liver problems, blood infection, pancreatitis, bone infection, and even cancer. Its compromising effects may spread further on dog's brain, lungs, and muscles.

Symptoms

‍To act early and prevent serious consequences of periodontosis, familiarize yourself with the symptoms. At the same time, pay attention to your dog's behavior. They tend to hide their pain and trick you into believing that everything is fine. They can easily learn to chew the food on one side of the mouth, or simply swallow the food without enough chewing to avoid the pain of a broken tooth. For that reason, watch carefully and look for the signs such as bad breath, bleedy gums, swollen gums, lost or broken tooth, whining or barking for no reason, constant grooming, and so on.

Whenever you notice unusual behavior pattern especially if it is followed by poor appetite don't hesitate to check with your veterinarian his teeth and gums. If not sure, ask for guidance to keep his teeth healthy and avoid dangerous effects of poor dental care on dog health.