{"id":1731,"date":"2013-02-06T23:25:13","date_gmt":"2013-02-06T23:25:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/?p=1731"},"modified":"2013-02-06T23:25:13","modified_gmt":"2013-02-06T23:25:13","slug":"february-is-national-pet-dental-health-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/february-is-national-pet-dental-health-month\/","title":{"rendered":"February is National Pet Dental Health Month"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/pet_dental_month.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-1732\" title=\"pet_dental_month\" src=\"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/pet_dental_month-150x150.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/r.smartbrief.com\/resp\/ejrqCertqOCfyieeCidncUCicNyqrW?format=standard\" target=\"_blank\">Poor oral health has serious repercussions, AVMA reminds owners<\/a><br \/>\n<em>The AVMA designated February as National Pet Dental Health Month to highlight the importance of oral care for overall animal health. The majority of adult cats and dogs have dental disease, and if left untreated, the condition can have serious consequences. &#8220;Dental problems are extremely common, and many are very painful and can lead to serious systemic conditions,&#8221; said AVMA President Dr. Douglas Aspros. &#8220;An untreated dental infection can spread to the heart, kidneys and other organs and suddenly become life-threatening.&#8221;<\/em><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/r.smartbrief.com\/resp\/ejrqCertqOCfyieeCidncUCicNyqrW?format=standard\" target=\"_blank\">PetSide.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sponsored by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.avma.org\/Events\/pethealth\/Pages\/February-is-National-Pet-Dental-Health-Month.aspx?utm_source=home-rotator&amp;utm_medium=web\">American Veterinary Medical Association<\/a>, (AVMA) the month of February has been set aside as <strong>National Pet Dental Health Month<\/strong>. And while I\u2019ll wager almost anything that the majority of humans don\u2019t consider a trip to the dentist to be one of their top 10 most favorite things to do, it\u2019s no secret that regular dental checkups are essential to maintain overall good health. It\u2019s equally just as important for pet parents to provide regular dental care for their pets.<\/p>\n<p>According to studies made by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthypet.com\/PetCare\/PetCareArticle.aspx?title=Oral_Health_Affects_Overall_Health\">American Animal Hospital Association, <\/a> (AHHA) sadly, 85 percent of dogs and cats over the age of 3 years have already suffered dental or gum disease. Without regular dental care and cleaning, pets can develop gingivitis, (an often painful inflammation of the gums) from the bacterial laden plaque which, if not taken care of on a regular basis, develops into tarter or calculus.<\/p>\n<p>The AAHA studies also found that two-thirds of pet guardians do not provide the regular dental care recommended by veterinarians.\u00a0 Kate Knutson, co-owner of the Pet Crossing Animal Hospital and Dental Clinic, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, said, &#8220;We believe that one of the most important parts of pets&#8217; health care is attention to dental disease.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Board president of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.avdonline.org\/\">Academy of Veterinary Dentistry<\/a> and certified veterinary dentist, Dr. Brook A. Niemiec said, \u201cUnfortunately, only about one percent of pet owners brush their pet&#8217;s teeth. Not only do more pet owners need to brush their pet&#8217;s teeth, they should also use chew toys, treats and rawhides to help keep their pet&#8217;s teeth clean.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Douglas Aspros, President of the AVMA said, &#8220;Dental problems are extremely common, and many are very painful and can lead to serious systemic conditions&#8221;. He reminds pet guardians that, &#8220;an untreated dental infection can spread to the heart, kidneys and other organs, and suddenly become life threatening.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Although the AVMA is promoting Pet Dental Health Month in February, at the same time the organization is reminding dog and cat owners that in addition to making an appointment with their veterinarian for a complete dental checkup and cleaning, that learning how to brush their pet\u2019s teeth and do so on a regular basis that their veterinarian recommends is equally essential.<\/p>\n<p>Learn the symptoms of pet dental disease which many are hard to ignore. One of the first signs of gum disease is unrelenting bad breath. Additionally, pets may exhibit: difficulty in eating, pawing at their mouth, gums that are sore and red gums, and tooth discoloration caused by tarter.<\/p>\n<p>In order to celebrate Pet Dental Health Month, many veterinary practices are offering a special discount for their pet\u2019s oral care.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Poor oral health has serious repercussions, AVMA reminds owners The AVMA designated February as National Pet Dental Health Month to highlight the importance of oral care for overall animal health. The majority of adult cats and dogs have dental disease, and if left untreated, the condition can have serious consequences. &#8220;Dental problems are extremely common, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,12,29,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-cats","category-dogs","category-healthy-pets","category-medical-issues"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>February is National Pet Dental Health Month | The Animal Health Foundation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.animalhealthfoundation.org\/blog\/2013\/02\/february-is-national-pet-dental-health-month\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"February is National Pet Dental Health Month | The Animal Health Foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Poor oral health has serious repercussions, AVMA reminds owners The AVMA designated February as National Pet Dental Health Month to highlight the importance of oral care for overall animal health. 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