• Persistent bad breath
• Discoloured teeth
• Bleeding gums
• Loose or missing teeth
• Difficulty eating or chewing

If your pet has one or more of these signs, they could be suffering from gum disease.

Healthy teeth and gums are essential to the overall wellbeing of your pet. Ignoring the signs of dental disease can lead to much more serious issues down the track.

Tartar build-up can lead to gum and periodontal disease. This can eventually lead to other internal diseases such as heart disease, liver problems and kidney failure. By the age of 3, most pets have some early signs of dental disease. It is important to regularly check teeth and gums for signs of dental disease.

The simplest way to protect your pets' teeth is give them bones to chew. However, some dogs and cats refuse to chew bones or can vomit when they have chewed raw bones. The alternatives are pigs ears, rawhides, Greenies, Dentabones or Dentabits for your pets to chew.

Brushing your pets' teeth certainly cleans and freshens but does not exercise their teeth. Exercising teeth and gums is important to prevent tooth loss. Regular feeding of Eukanuba dry pet foods will provide a barrier to tartar build-up.

If there is evident tartar build-up, dentistry will be needed. This procedure involves a general anaesthesia, extraction of rotten teeth, periodontal examination and curette, ultra-sonic de-scale and polish.

To maintain good dental health we recommend,

• annual dental checks
• regular raw meat bones
• Eukanuba dry food