# Tartar already!?



## TankGrrl66 (Jun 29, 2010)

Ugh. This sucks.

My puppy has not even had her molars for a month, and there is a brown residue on them already. Well, technically her last premolar (the big one). It won't come off. GRRRRRR how could she already have tartar?

Yes, she is on kibble. I didn't know kibble did that this fast! 

She has a deer antler and nylabones to chew on. Apparently she sin't using those teeth when she chews, but it looks like it.

Could this be a sign of something else? Or do I jut needs to stock up raw bones?


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

I just got a two year old Sheltie that had dirty teeth. She ate kibble and that was not high quality. I started her on dental chews that are specially impregnated with a substance to clean teeth tat was helping. I also have the stuff in the water that fights plaque.


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## msvette2u (Mar 20, 2006)

Brush every 3-4 days and it won't happen.


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## dazedtrucker (May 2, 2011)

My new dog had really brownish yellow teeth. He's 3, and ate kibble his whole life. After 1 week of raw, and lots of meaty bones his teeth are looking ALOT whiter. Night and day difference. Knuckle bones, pork neck bones mostly. Couldn't hurt


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## ChancetheGSD (Dec 19, 2007)

msvette2u said:


> Brush every 3-4 days and it won't happen.


:thumbup: Nothing cleans teeth better than a toothbrush!!

Brush her teeth, offer plenty of RMB and dental treats and if you want, there are things you can add to the water to help keep teeth clean too.

Dental care is more than cosmetic or trying to prevent "doggy breath", it's needed for OVERALL health. 80% of dogs over the age of 3 have dental disease. Consider that the bacteria that builds up in your pets mouth can get into the blood stream through the gums and travel through the body including to major organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys. Given enough bacteria (and imagine how much there is after YEARS of not brushing a dogs mouth!), it can actually lead to the failure of these organs which of course will lead to death.


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## fishertexas (Sep 11, 2013)

If you look in his mouth do you see any of the enamel chipped away?

Reason I ask (and I don't mean to scare you, because if bones are helping then you're probably fine) but my dog Fisher recently got diagnosed with an enamel defect. He's 10 months, and the same thing happened where I said "this is a lot of tartar build up for for a young pup like him". Additionally some of his enamel had chipped away from some of his teeth.

My original vet was not particularly helpful (ugh) but a second opinion got me to bring Fisher to a dentist at AMC who then diagnosed him. Fisher got a full cleaning, xrays, bonding agent on his teeth, and all, and while he'll never have easily manageable teeth or be able to chew bones (poor guy), he'll be better off because we caught it earlier on.

Again definitely NOT to scare you, but worth checking that off the list if you can.


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