home Audience 12 Snow-white teeth in a cat: a cosmetic whim or preserving the health of the pet. Tartar in cats: treatment and removal

Snow-white teeth in a cat: a cosmetic whim or preserving the health of the pet. Tartar in cats: treatment and removal

One of the diseases common to humans and animals is tartar. In indoor cats, it occurs quite often, because, unlike wild cats, they do not clean their teeth, eating grass or caught rodents along with veins and bones. Hard plaque on teeth is not always accompanied by severe pain, but ultimately leads to inflammation of the gums, and even to the destruction of the dentition. So treat it dental disease should definitely.

Plaque on teeth is formed from food debris left in the mouth. The enzymes contained in saliva do not always cope with their complete decomposition, and the presence of foreign microorganisms creates conditions for the formation of a thin film of primary plaque. A person feels this plaque as roughness on the teeth. But we brush our teeth regularly, but not always for our cats. Over time, dental plaque thickens and hardens; the calcium and phosphorus compounds that make up saliva serve as the “cementing material” for it.

Risk factors include:

dental pathologies - abnormalities in the structure of the dentition, malocclusion, damage to the enamel or its unevenness;
missing part of the teeth on the opposite side of the jaw;
lack of solid food in the diet, which removes plaque no worse than a toothbrush;
disorders of salt metabolism, as a result of which colloidal compounds are formed, deposited in the form of salts on tooth enamel;
lack of proper oral care;
genetic predisposition (tooth stones are most often found in Siamese, Scottish, Persian cats).

Symptoms

Dental plaques most often form on inside incisors and the outside of the molars, because these teeth are in to the greatest extent come into contact with food and saliva. Supragingival deposits are easy to see when examining a cat's mouth; subgingival deposits (located on the roots of the teeth) are more difficult to detect.

Signs that a cat has tartar:

hard dark coating bases of teeth,
cutting bad smell from mouth,
bleeding and inflammation of the gums,
profuse drooling,
refusal to feed due to pain during chewing.

Attention! Tartar not only brings suffering to the animal, it is fraught with dangerous complications. If plaque is not removed, your cat may develop more dangerous illnesses. This is caries, which destroys tooth enamel, stomatitis, gingivitis or periodontal disease ( inflammatory diseases gums), pulpitis (inflammation of the dental nerve, accompanied by severe pain).

Treatment

Removing hardened plaque from teeth is a rather painful procedure and is performed in a clinic, usually using general anesthesia. The cat is not fed for half a day; older animals are first examined for the presence of concomitant diseases. There are several options for treating tartar.

Grinding

The method is used for small amounts of tartar. The teeth are polished with an abrasive paste, which removes hardened plaque from the enamel. During the procedure, the gums are often injured, so the cat needs to be fed semi-liquid food for several days, and given painkillers if necessary.

Mechanical chipping

The cat's teeth and gums are treated with lactic acid, then the softened particles of dental deposits are removed with a dental instrument - a skeller. With this method of stone removal, mechanical injuries to the gums and oral mucosa are also possible.

Ultrasound removal

This is the most atraumatic method of removing mineralized deposits from teeth. The procedure is performed using a dental ultrasound device, and allows you to remove deposits without damaging the gum tissue and tooth enamel, and at the same time clean the periodontal canal. However, if stones are located in the gum sinuses, ultrasound cannot always remove them.

Important! The method of treatment is determined by a veterinarian after a thorough examination of the animal and an assessment of possible risks. It is strictly not recommended to remove tartar yourself: you can cause pain to your pet and harm its health.

Prevention

The following will help prevent cats from forming stones on their teeth:

A diet that contains hard foods. It is recommended to periodically give the cat dried tendons, grass, or use special food. Types of food that help clean teeth are produced by Hills Oral (dry cat food “Feline Adult Oral Care”), Royal Canin (cat kibbles “Oral Care”), Beaphar (pads “Cat-A-Dent Bits”).
Timely treatment of diseases causing metabolic disorders.
Regular preventive examination by a veterinarian.

You can prevent the appearance of tartar in cats by brushing your pet’s teeth with a special “cat” brush. It is recommended to do this at least twice a week. At first, this procedure will be perceived with indignation by your cat. But over time, she will get used to it, accept it and stop resisting, as she will feel better. For cleaning, veterinarians recommend using Tropiclean gel (manufactured by the American company Tropiclean, drug name “Clean Teeth Gel Cat”). This product contains natural ingredients preventing reproduction pathogenic microflora, and softens hardened plaque.

Why do you need to monitor the formation of tartar in cats? The deposition of limestone on teeth is not only aesthetic problem. Besides the unpleasant appearance There are a number of other pathologies that significantly worsen a cat’s health:

provoking the development of gingivitis and periodontal disease ( infectious inflammation gums, leading to their looseness, increased bleeding and tooth loss);
stomatitis - inflammation of the mucous membrane oral cavity with the formation of ulcers;
the formation of dental caries with further rotting under the stone;
the inability to fully chew food due to toothache, the development of gastritis and gastroenteritis against the background of digestive disorders due to this;
osteomyelitis and periodontitis - destruction and rotting of the jaw bone tissue (one of the most terrible consequences).

How to tell if your cat has oral problems

You should definitely pay attention to the following symptoms in your pet:

Examination of the oral cavity reveals:

on the surface of the teeth there are stone-like growths of yellow or green-black color;
inflamed and bleeding gums;
teeth with limescale are loose, sometimes barely holding on to the gingival sockets;
swelling of the mucous membrane around the gums, on inner surface cheeks;
ulcerations on the mucous membrane of the mouth with seizure of the gums (signs of stomatitis).

How to brush your teeth at home

Complex tartar in cats cannot be removed at home! This is practically impossible, because... It is very difficult to keep a cat in a position comfortable for brushing. You should not even try to mechanically scrape deposits from the teeth - this is fraught with emotional and painful shock to the animal, as well as injuries to the mouth.

There are various aids from stones on the teeth of cats, which can be used independently, but only as a preventive measure or if the process has not started and the stones do not look like “cobblestones”:

Gels and sprays. They have different tastes that are pleasant for Murka, are easy to apply, but in terms of effectiveness they are more suitable for preventive measures than to medicinal ones. Strong stone is not removed; only plaque is removed. The only advantage is that you don’t need to additionally brush the cat’s teeth; you just need to apply it and the gels/sprays begin to “work” themselves. There are special gels that soften already fossilized plaque, but after applying the product it must be brushed off almost immediately with a toothbrush - the stone itself will not dissolve and disappear.
Special wipes for stone removal. The napkin is wrapped around the finger and the teeth treatment procedure is carried out. WITH neglected cases won't help, just initial stage, when the plaque is about to begin to transform into a hard fossil. This is an inconvenient method if the cat is not accustomed to the procedure - it will not allow anything to be shoved into its mouth.
Toothpaste for cats from tartar- a good method to get your mouth in order, but it requires a number of procedures, including the need to purchase a special brush and actually brush your teeth. It copes well with the first “pebbles” if you get used to it and teach the cat not to twitch or struggle during the procedure.
Special food or treats. Some manufacturers industrial feed They produce a line of treats or food, which are given to Murka from time to time, and during the chewing process, the stone is removed from the surface of the teeth. They also serve more as a preventative measure, because They cannot cope with very large deposits.
Chew toys– have special surfaces coated with abrasive. In the process of playing with them, the tooth enamel is cleansed of stone. It is good to use when soft plaque is just beginning to form into limescale.

Getting your teeth cleaned by a specialist

Tartar in cats is removed, specific therapeutic treatment is not carried out. The veterinarian has two main ways to remove stone from a cat's grin:

Tartar removal in cats mechanical method involves literally scraping and tearing off hard deposits from the teeth with special metal tools. Naturally, the method is quite traumatic; there is a high risk of damage to the gums and stripping of tooth enamel. Almost no one uses mechanical cleaning in modern veterinary medicine, because... The method is really very dangerous, and on the rough surface of the teeth (from damaged enamel), stone will be deposited even faster and stronger over time.
Removal ultrasound- a safer, more effective and painless method. For this purpose, special ultrasonic scaling devices are used.

After any method of cleaning, the teeth are additionally polished. This is done with a special antibacterial paste, which not only smoothes the tooth surface, but also fights bacteria.

Of course, the procedure is performed under anesthesia if there are no contraindications for its administration. In both cases the animal is fixed. If cleaning is carried out under general anesthesia, then an inspection of the entire oral cavity is performed at the same time and bad teeth are removed, which do not perform their functions, but are only a source of infection.

To clean tartar without anesthesia, the procedure will have to be divided into several stages, depending on the complexity of the deposits. A cat is a very mobile and evasive animal, which is quite difficult to fix in one position for a long time without unnecessary movements.

If there are signs of bleeding - especially after the removal of bad teeth - it is enough to use cotton-gauze swabs soaked in ordinary 3% hydrogen peroxide. At the very end, cleaning ends with treatment antiseptic solutions or gels:

IN special cases If there are signs of advanced stomatitis, a course of antibiotic therapy may be necessary.

Prevention of plaque and tartar formation

Prevention of tartar is always more expedient and financially beneficial than regular cleaning, which injures, first of all, nervous system cat.

The main preventive measures include:

regular compliance with the rules of hygiene of the cat’s oral cavity, cleansing soft plaque;
correct and balanced diet, lump feed, reducing the amount of soft food;
condition monitoring gastrointestinal tract, timely treatment emerging pathologies that change the acidity of the gastric environment and mouth;
periodic introduction of Murok into the diet special food, which contains polyphosphates that cover the teeth with a protective film that prevents the formation of plaque and stone.

Additional information about tartar

Causes of stone formation?

improper feeding of the predator with a predominance of soft food that does not contribute to natural cleansing surfaces of teeth;
improper feeding, which provokes a change in the acidity of the gastric contents with the appearance of belching, which, in turn, changes the acidity of saliva and provokes the formation of plaque and its petrification;
malocclusion. Due to congenital or acquired after changing teeth, incorrect positioning of the teeth distorts their friction against each other and against the buccal surface, impairing self-cleaning;
increased enamel roughness. Due to improper feeding, the smooth layer of tooth enamel wears off;
metabolic disease.

Under anesthesia or not?

It is almost impossible to remove tartar from cats without anesthesia using professional ultrasonic cleaning. In addition, the quality of the work done will be significantly impaired - there can be no talk of any thoroughness when the animal twists, kicks, tries to bite and practically does not allow anything to be done in the mouth area. Without anesthesia, it will not be possible to inspect the mouth and remove bad teeth.

But! Sometimes the situation may require the removal of tartar in cats without anesthesia, posing a threat to the life of the pet. Such situations include:

allergic individuals, when the risk of an allergic reaction to anesthesia and anaphylactic shock is high;
history of serious pathologies of the heart, central nervous system, liver and kidneys;
individual intolerance to anesthesia components.

In such cases, tartar cleaning is carried out without the introduction of narcotic substances, in several stages and with enhanced fixation.

Predisposition

Tartar was once thought to be a problem in older cats. However, recently, age is not an indicator of health, so young animals may also have data dental problems. Moreover, yard cats, who are almost on pasture, almost never have problems with teeth, unlike ornamental breeds cats.

Most often affected:

Persians;
Scots and British;
Siamese cats.

How often should you brush your cat's teeth?

Everything is individual, but on average: weekly for soft plaque and once every few months for hard plaque. Typically, if there is a tendency for tartar to form, the frequency of cleaning can range from 3 to 6 months. With regular cleaning, soft tartar plaque can be avoided altogether.

Tartar in cats seems to most owners to be a trifle that does not require serious attention. Many consider it simply a cosmetic flaw. However, this approach to the problem can lead to serious illnesses, including fatal outcome. Someone will object that in nature wild cats do not brush their teeth and they do not have problems with dental health. But the living conditions of a domestic and wild cat are radically different: the food of an undomesticated animal is much coarser, which allows you to get rid of plaque on your teeth in a natural, mechanical way.

What is tartar

Tartar is a hardened plaque on the outer part of the teeth. It includes traces of food, bacteria, dead cells, as well as calcium, phosphorus, and iron salts.

The process of eating is always accompanied by the secretion of saliva, which plays vital role in softening food and digesting. Since animal teeth are not cleaned after eating, some of the food that gets into the mouth remains on the teeth and continues to be processed by saliva. These leftover feed are considered very harmful and even poisonous. After a few hours, bacteria and microorganisms begin to multiply rapidly and form a plaque, which over time hardens and turns into stone. It forms at the base of the tooth, gradually covering its entire surface.

There are supragingival and subgingival tartar. The first one is very easy to find out. In young individuals it is a dense and hard coating of a yellowish tint, which gradually becomes brownish. Usually localized on canines, incisors and back teeth, increasing in size over time. The subgingival variety “hides” in the gum and has a dark yellow or green-black color. Only a doctor can diagnose it.

Veterinarians distinguish between subgingival and supragingival types of tartar

Reasons for education

In addition to the lack of hygiene procedures in the oral cavity, there are also other factors responsible for the appearance of tartar. These include:

damaged teeth;
inflammation in the gums at the base of the teeth (gingivitis, periodontal disease, etc.);
absence of an antagonist tooth (that is, one that comes into contact with the opposite one when chewing);
improper formation of the dentition;
excessive roughness of the enamel;
impaired mineral metabolism, which is characterized by an increase in calcium and phosphorus in the blood, resulting in an increase in the amount of salts in saliva;
improper cat diet, in which soft food predominates and there is a lack of hard food.

An incorrect bite can be another reason for the appearance of tartar in a cat, but it can also become the reason for its celebrity (but you shouldn’t check it on your charges!)

How to recognize a problem in a pet

The presence of tartar is easy for any owner to determine. It is characterized by the following features:

strong unpleasant odor from the animal's mouth;
plaque and hard layering at the base of the teeth of a yellow or brown tint;
inflamed, reddened, bleeding gums;
excessive saliva production;
loose and falling teeth;
swelling of the mucous membrane of the mouth;
unusual behavior of the cat while eating: shaking its head and growling, twitching while chewing;
refusal to eat;
constant rubbing of the cheek against various objects.

It is not difficult to determine the presence of tartar in a pet: the animal’s teeth are covered with a hard plaque that cannot be cleaned by hand.

An experienced veterinarian will recognize a tartar problem at first sight. To do this, he just needs to inspect the animal. The doctor can determine the severity of the disease by carefully examining the cat’s gums to see the presence of subgingival growth or tumors of the oral mucosa.

The danger of tartar

The consequences of lack of treatment can include diseases such as:

The most a terrible consequence Untreated dental plaque leads to the development of periodontitis and osteomyelitis. Periodontitis is characterized by the destruction of bone tissue, and osteomyelitis is purulent inflammation in bone, soft tissue and bone marrow. Both diseases can lead to the death of your pet.

Tartar brings a lot of pain to the cat, which in some cases even refuses to eat because of the pain.

The formation of tartar can provoke serious illnesses oral cavity

Treatment options

Tartar removal is carried out in veterinary clinics. The procedure is carried out under general anesthesia, as it gives the animal very discomfort and severe pain.

The animal is prepared in advance for cleaning the teeth from tartar: young (up to 3 years old) healthy cats no food is given at least 12 hours before the procedure, and animals over 3 years old or having any chronic diseases pass, in addition to this, additional examination: tests are taken, a thorough examination is carried out.

The procedure for removing tartar lasts on average from 30 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the degree of tooth damage. It includes the following steps:

Mechanical chipping. At this stage, the growths are lubricated with lactic acid. Then they begin to chip away the stone using a skeller (a special dental device).
Ultrasound cleaning. This manipulation is necessary to remove small parts. In the initial stage of tartar formation, when the growths are still small, it is usually enough ultrasonic removal. This procedure does not injure the tooth tissue, unlike mechanical chipping. This is why it is so important not to start this process.
Grinding and polishing. A special paste is applied to the teeth, which destroys pathogenic bacteria and allows you to even out damaged enamel. The treated oral cavity is rinsed antiseptic and treated with an astringent so that tartar cannot form again.

IN in rare cases when the cat is too old, has serious illnesses or allergic reaction under anesthesia, the procedure for removing dental calculus can be performed without general anesthesia. In this case, the animal is given painkillers, and the stone is removed in several passes.

The procedure for removing tartar is very painful, so it is carried out under general anesthesia

After the operation, you should create a gentle regime for the cat: offer food that is not solid, slightly warm. It is often necessary to give the animal medications for pain.

It is almost impossible to remove tartar on teeth at home due to the complexity and pain of the procedure. You shouldn’t even try to mechanically remove it yourself. This may lead to painful shock animal and serious problems with health. If it is impossible to take your pet to the clinic, you can use a chemical method of elimination, for example, using Tropiclean gel. When applied to teeth, it softens growths and destroys pathogenic bacteria. The way to use it is quite simple:

30 minutes before using the gel, the cat should not be given food or water.
It is necessary to apply the product in the amount of two drops to the animal’s teeth and immediately brush them with a toothbrush.
The product is used daily for a month, and then it can be used as a preventative measure 2 times a week.

It is difficult to get rid of tartar at home, but you can try to remove it with special chemicals.

The advantage of this removal method is the absence of such stressful situation, like anesthesia and a visit to the veterinarian. But this method requires much more time and effort, in addition, the gel will not be able to cope with subgingival tartar.

Preventive measures

It is recommended to visit the veterinarian once every six months so that he can examine the animal’s oral cavity for the formation of tartar. If it is not possible to visit veterinary clinic, you need to regularly examine your pet yourself.

Timely cleaning of teeth from plaque (about once every 5 days) can significantly reduce the risk of tartar formation. It is recommended to introduce the animal to this procedure from a very early age so that its indignation does not interfere with cleaning.

There are various toothpastes and brushes on the market that are made specifically for cats, but you can simply use your own. forefinger to clean teeth from plaque.

Regular dental examination and brushing are the most effective means of preventing dental plaque.

The food your cat eats should contain tough ingredients and grass. There are foods on sale that contain special granules that clean the surface of the teeth mechanically and contain polyphosphates; they settle on the teeth and prevent the formation of plaque. Taking multivitamins helps maintain dental health. And allowing a cat to gnaw cartilage, chicken necks or letting you play with a toy, you will reduce the likelihood of plaque on your teeth to a minimum.

If an animal has digestive diseases, they should be treated in order to restore the chemical balance in the mouth and thereby reduce the risk of tartar formation.

Video: how to properly brush your cat's teeth

Tartar in cats is calcareous deposits on the teeth (colonies of microorganisms) that have a stable and durable structure, as well as a tendency to grow. Bacteria, trace elements, phosphorus salts and food debris give tartar a yellowish or dark brown color.

How is tartar formed?

The formation of tartar begins at an early age of the animal. It occurs in several stages. First, a barely noticeable film of bacteria and saliva appears on your cat's teeth. It can sometimes disappear, but then it will definitely appear again. Over time, a strong plaque forms on the canines and back teeth. Soon, “dental plaque” will appear on the remaining teeth. This is a fairly stable formation, representing colonies of various microorganisms. These microorganisms on the surface of the tooth create favorable conditions For chemical reaction, which involves calcium contained in the animal’s saliva. Next, mineralization of dental plaque occurs and the development of the inflammatory process in the gums. Periodontitis may then occur.

Why does tartar appear?

There are several main reasons why tartar forms in cats:

improper growth of teeth;
the cat eating soft food;
increased roughness of teeth;
salt metabolism disorders;
incorrect and insufficient oral hygiene.

Symptoms of Tartar

Pronounced changes in the cat’s oral cavity indicate the appearance of tartar. It's quite easy to identify them.

Main features:

bad breath;
Brown or yellow deposits have appeared at the base of the tooth;
hard crusts appeared on the teeth near the gums;
reddened, sometimes bleeding gums;
anxiety and pain when eating food;

Tartar removal in cats

Tartar in cats must be removed. Do not self-medicate, but immediately contact an experienced veterinarian.

Removing tartar is an unpleasant and painful procedure. This manipulation takes about 30-40 minutes and is performed under general anesthesia. If the cat is young, then 12 hours starvation diet before the operation will be sufficient. Doctors take a special approach to animals over five years old. First, the cat is examined ( laboratory research), having ascertained the absence of chronic diseases and other ailments, the veterinarian individually prescribes the volume of anesthesia.

Tartar removal in cats consists of three stages:

Mechanical removal of large stones is carried out using dental instruments;
Ultrasonic cleaning is carried out using a special device;
polishing and grinding of teeth with special pastes.

We can talk about high-quality teeth cleaning when all three stages have been completed.

Prevention of tartar in cats

The main problem in eliminating inflammation of periodontal tissues is the destruction of the biofilm, which is responsible for the formation of dental plaque. Plaque can form very quickly - within 48 hours, so it is necessary to take daily measures to prevent its appearance.

By multiplying, pathogenic bacteria form a large population immersed in a glycoprotein matrix that fills dental lacunae and canals. In such places, bacteria become invulnerable to host immunity factors and many medicines. However, properly directed mechanical stress on the tooth surface can destroy the integrity of plaque and tartar. In dogs, with a lack of such mechanical influences, the formation of dental plaque is accompanied by the development of gum inflammation, which becomes clinically obvious within 7-21 days. Daily treatment of the oral cavity and brushing the teeth of animals ensure the elimination of gingivitis, which confirms the reversible nature of this pathology.

Plaque has an extremely negative effect on the condition of teeth, although there is an opinion that it protects teeth from drying out and colonization pathogenic species exogenous bacteria. Therefore, the most urgent task is to prevent the formation of dental plaque as much as possible, but one should not expect that it will be possible to completely rid the animal of it.

Teeth cleaning

Brushing your teeth is perhaps the main way to prevent and treat gum inflammation and periodontal diseases. A one-week study of cats showed that brushing once a day or twice a week reduced the incidence of tartar formation by 95%.

The experiment, which lasted one year, on the contrary, gave reason to believe that brushing cats’ teeth is a thankless and ineffective task. Firstly, technical difficulties often arise when carrying out this procedure, especially if it is carried out daily. In addition, in this experiment it was noticed that brushing teeth helped reduce the incidence of gum inflammation only on the cheek side, but overall it did not statistically significant reduction incidence of gingivitis.

Another study was recently completed in which 88 owners monitored their pets for six months, comparing the effectiveness of tooth brushing with the use of a special dry food. At the end of the experiment, the results were summed up - the effectiveness of cleaning cats' teeth did not exceed 40%.

Manufacturers of dry cat food are studying them intensively eating behavior. The shape, size and texture of kibble food are regularly checked and adapted to the different anatomical types of the face and jaws of cats of different breeds to ensure normal physiological activity of the dental system while eating. Manufacturers study the texture of croquettes especially carefully. ready-made feed, aiming to ensure that it provides plaque control.

The influence of the kibble texture of ready-made food on the formation of tartar in cats

The texture of the croquette (especially its fiber characteristics) is the most important physical property ready-made feed, helping to reduce plaque deposits. Numerous studies conducted on dogs have shown negative effects wet food- this type of feeding contributes to the development of periodontal diseases.

Although very few such experiments were carried out on cats, they convincingly revealed the main patterns of the influence of food texture on the process of plaque formation:

raising kittens on wet food contributes to the formation of tartar, gingivitis, tooth loss and bad breath;
two-week observations of two groups of cats receiving wet and dry food showed that the latter significantly reduced the incidence of plaque formation;
adding fiber to the tiger diet twice a week helped reduce the incidence of plaque formation and associated inflammation of periodontal tissues;
Daily consumption of chew sticks in 15 cats in addition to dry food significantly reduced the incidence of plaque (by 20%) and tartar (by 39%) on premolars, molars and canines. There were no reports that feeding animals chewing sticks had any effect on the severity or incidence of gum inflammation. This is probably due to the lack of statistical significant impact this factor;
In a similar experiment conducted on 24 cats who were given chewable treats along with dry food once a day for four weeks, there was a significant reduction (by 64%) in the incidence of plaque formation compared to cats in the control group that were fed just dry food. Statistically significant differences were also noted in the incidence of tartar formation and the value of the “gingival index” - in cats that received treats, these indicators were 15 and 11% lower, respectively.

The influence of the size and shape of dry food kibble

The influence of the shape and texture of kibble food on the condition of teeth in cats was studied simultaneously in an experiment, under the conditions of which the cats had Free access to several feeds. A significant (41%) reduction in the intensity of plaque deposition was noted in animals that ate large kibble that had a quadrangular shape and a higher (25%) index of tooth deepening during chewing compared to dry food whose kibble was small and triangular. This decrease in the intensity of plaque formation can be explained by the greater mechanical impact of large kibble food on the teeth. If the kibble texture of the dry food allows the animal's teeth to penetrate it greater depth Before they crumble, the duration of the chewing process increases, which has a positive effect on teeth cleaning.

The food may also contain certain ingredients that can attack plaque and tartar. Thus, chewing them during meals facilitates the prevention of periodontal diseases.

A texture meter is a device for measuring the resistance of kibble to the pressure exerted on it by a cat's jaws and teeth.

Replaceable attachments allow you to simulate the shape and size of animal teeth various breeds and ages.

Thanks to a specially selected structure, dry-court croquettes ensure deeper penetration of teeth into them while eating. This ensures greater efficiency of mechanical cleaning of the tooth surface.

The benefits of polyphosphate salts

Well known (confirmed) clinical practice), that some polyphosphate salts are an effective means of preventing the formation of tartar. Calcium cations (Ca2+), present in cat saliva, are responsible for the mineralization of dental plaque and its transformation into tartar. If polyphosphates, capable of binding various cations (including Ca2+ and Mg2+), enter the oral cavity, they neutralize calcium ions in saliva, limiting their inclusion in the tartar matrix. The calcium they bind is released in the digestive tract and can be absorbed through the intestinal wall if the body needs it. Cats fed dry food kibbles coated with a calcium chelator had a significant (32%) reduction in calcium accumulation in dental plaque compared to control cats fed the same dry food without the polyphosphate salts.

Dentists are intensively studying in long-term experiments the effect of certain oils (thymol, eucalyptus, menthol, methyl salicylate) on the condition of people’s teeth. There was a significant decrease in the intensity of plaque formation (by 25%) and the incidence of associated gum inflammation (by 25-35%) in people who regularly rinsed their mouths and teeth with solutions containing such oils.

Feed with sodium polyphosphate

Current research in the field of oral health in animals is focused on finding new active ingredients that can prevent the formation of tartar.

Testing on cats of ingredients found in human cosmetics (plaque-reducing nutritional ingredients (PRN)) has shown that they can have the same effect on cat teeth. The inclusion of these ingredients in one of the dry food options in order to improve mechanical properties by optimizing the kibble structure led to a significant reduction in the intensity of plaque deposition in animals. A month after the cats received the experimental food, a 12% decrease in the intensity of tartar formation was noted on all examined teeth (canines, premolars upper jaw, as well as molars on lower jaw). A more thorough examination of the teeth along the gum line showed that the intensity of plaque formation on all teeth decreased by an average of 22%. If we exclude from the analysis the maxillary premolars, as well as the mandibular molars, then this figure will be even higher - 36%. This indicates effective preventive action food with a special additive for the formation of plaque and tartar. In addition, the results of this experiment showed that such foods can prevent the formation of plaque and tartar even on the most vulnerable teeth of cats - the maxillary premolars, as well as the mandibular molars.

It is likely that in the future the development and testing of new components of the cat’s diet will continue, with the help of which it will be possible not only to inhibit the processes of aggregation of bacterial cells in dental plaque, but also to influence its physical interaction with the teeth, ensuring the detachment of such formations.

The combination of the size, texture and composition of kibble dry food has already made it possible to significantly reduce the intensity of plaque and tartar formation in cats (by approximately 30 and 50%, respectively). Cats have a very unique mechanism for chewing food, which involves the strongest squeezing of food with wolf teeth. Therefore, foods designed to prevent the formation of plaque and tartar have the greatest effect on wolf teeth. The inclusion of special additives in dry food that prevent the formation of dental plaque contributes to the spread of such positive effect and on the rostral part of the dental arcade (canines and incisors).

Feed with polyphosphates

Index characterizing general level plaque deposits before and after a month of cats consuming dry food enriched with a special additive PRN.

Typically the incidence of development in cats inflammatory processes in the oral cavity is highly underestimated. Clinical significance This group of diseases is much larger than previously thought. Actually it's infectious diseases number one in cats Contrary to popular belief, periodontal disease in dogs and cats differs significantly and even manifests itself differently. Recent studies have shown that periodontal inflammation in cats has significant secondary effects on other organ systems and the body as a whole. Such observations allow us to take a fresh look at the benefits of preventing diseases of the oral cavity and teeth. Its goal is not just to eliminate bad breath from animals, but also to improve their health and increase their life expectancy.

Adequate treatment eliminates chronic toothache and infections associated with oral diseases. Owners are usually amazed by the effect that occurs as a result of proper care behind the oral cavity of their pets. Toothache greatly changes the behavior of cats. After treatment, they become more active, eat better, and general health improves significantly.

Particular attention should be paid to preventing plaque formation. It is now generally accepted that specially formulated foods can help maintain oral hygiene in small pets. They are especially useful for cats, given that they have a hard time brushing their teeth every day and usually don't show much interest in chewable objects.

Undoubtedly, the effectiveness of this approach will be improved through the development of new kibble shapes and textures and the search for new means of removing plaque.