Can your dog drink their way to better dental health?
In my new found obsession with dental care I have been exploring new products that can give people easy ways to improve the health of their older dog(s). Veterinarians always tell you to brush your dog's teeth and maybe it is just me, but doing so is just not that easy. None of my dogs, not even the most laid back, like me brushing their teeth. I do know some dog parents that are successful at this, but for those that are looking for a simpler way like I was, then you will want to take a look at the healthymouth™ dog dental water additive we review in the video below.
Before I recommended this product I needed to see for myself if it worked. I have heard from many others who have tried various dental water additives in the past without success so I have to admit I was initially quite skeptical. What drew me to healthymouth was that they had clinical trials and a great deal of research behind their product. It is also recommended by leading veterinary dentists, and healthymouth™ represents the first and only dental water additive to have earned the Veterinary Oral Health Council Seal of Acceptance (VOHC) for plaque control in dogs. Still I needed to see for myself how well this would work and how affordable it would be for parents of older dogs who already endure a great deal of expense. So I started using it with Paige who had started to show tartar build up on a few of her teeth, so much so that my vet had flagged it as an issue and one to start paying attention to.
After going through the impacts of dental disease with my beloved Mackenzie I had made an oath to myself to never have another dog go through this problem again - the effects are too harmful and so preventable. Using this dental water additive could not be easier - I make a litre jug that I keep in the fridge which is regular tap water with one teaspoon of the formula added in and I use that to refill their water bowls as often as needed. If you use a gallon jug then you'd need one teaspoon plus one tablespoon.
The green water is a bit strange at first, but this did not seem to be a deterrent to Paige who seems to love it as much or even more than regular water. The other dogs we tried it with felt the same way - even those that snubbed it initially came to enjoy it. For a while I did not see any improvement, but after a few months (yes it takes that long) I was very excited to see that even though the additive is more about reducing plaque, it had also removed the tartar that had been forming on Paige's teeth.
In a nutshell, when added to your dog's drinking water the solution safely cleans teeth and gums. It reduces plaque as well as oral bacteria that causes inflammation leading to dental disease, and inhibites the bacteria and germs that are the source of halitosis. The longer your dog uses it, the more results you will see. Since the additive softens remaining plaque, when you combine it with brushing or in Paige's case, daily use of a dental chew, you can accelerate the effectiveness. And one bottle lasts for months which is great! I have to clarify however that use of this water additive is more for prevention than reversal. If I had used it for Mackenzie, while I think he would have still benefited from it, I know that it would not have resolved his issues.
As a result, I recommend this product for those older dogs that have already had their teeth taken care of by a medical professional and need to maintain their newly found dental health, or for dogs like Paige that are showing early signs of dental problems that can be still be addressed at home and then a healthier mouth maintained. After seeing the results I will be keeping Paige on healthymouth so I can be confident that as she enters her senior years, which are right around the corner, she will do so without the risk of harmful dental disease.
