Hello, I am Cuca!

I'm a 9 year old Yorkshire Terrier. I'm a very good pet and I'm here to explain to you the story of my teeth.

It all started when after a few years of having only occasional professional cleanings, I was diagnosed with a major gum infection. Almost all my teeth had to be extracted and the infection affected other organs of my tiny body. My owner was very sad since she could have avoided this bad news if only she had cleaned my teeth once a day for a couple of minutes.

After the major tooth removal and subsequent treatment of the infection, the veterinary dentist recommended to my owners, from then on, to brush my remaining teeth once a day. So they do this EVERY night before we go to sleep!

First, I did not like this too much, but they are patient and caring and that makes things easier. Let me explain to you what method they use:

MATERIALS THAT WE NEED:

- A gentle Toothbrush (we use an Oral-B Extra Soft electric brush but NOT with the electric part, but you should try what your pet handles better inside her mouth and causes less stress)

- Oral hygiene rinse. We use the one from VIRBAC C.E.T Home Dental Care. It has the compound called ZincChlorhexidate, a good anti-plaque agent. You can use other brands, but it's good to use something to prevent the bacteria accumulate on the gum line.

HOW DO WE DO IT?

STEP 1 - Choose the best place where you can be comfortable with your pet and you have easy access and view of the gum line and the teeth. We use the kitchen counter, close to the sink.

STEP 2 - If you use a brush we recommend to put it under hot water to soften the bristles so it's not a painful or traumatic experience when it touches the gum.

STEP 3 - We dry the water from the brush on a paper towel, and then we apply a few drops of the VIRBAC Oral rinse on the bristles.

STEP 4 - We work on one section of the mouth at a time, so choose the side to start, lift the lip of your pet and start to brush the gum line. We just want to brush the GUM LINE, since it's the most important part. You don't need to go in the inside part of the teeth, just the outside. You don't have to rinse the Oral Rinse from the mouth of your pet, in fact it's better not to rinse it.

It takes both of my owners to do this. One of them holds my head steady and the other one does the brushing. They are very gentle and patient, but they make sure to brush carefully and thoroughly.

STEP 5 - After completing the first section of teeth, use hot water again and rinse the brush well to clean the material that might have accumulated from the brushing. Repeat STEP 4 on all the sections of your pet's mouth.

My dear veterinarian, Dr. Shaylene Snyder and her great team at Hemlock Bluffs Animal Hospital, are very proud of my teeth now and they rewarded me by making me a PET OF THE WEEK! Yay!

I hope you all find our technique useful. Healthy teeth to everybody!

Cuca