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Can I use
my fingernail or a dental scaler that I buy at a pet store
to clean my own pet's teeth?
The most harmful and destructive
aspects of dental disease are largely invisible, occurring
out of sight, below the
gum line. Removal of tartar or calculus from only the visible
part of the tooth (crown) does seem like ought to help, and
indeed, it will temporarily improve the pet’s cosmetic appearance.
However, failure to clean the teeth below the gumline allows
infection and inflammation there to proceed unchecked. This
will eventuall lead to pain, tooth loss, and perhaps damage
to the liver and kidneys.
Furthermore, scaling teeth or removing tartar without polishing
afterwards tends to leave the tooth surface scratched and
gouged at the microscopic level. This in turn causes plaque
and tartar to build up again even faster than before, because
an irregular surface speeds bacterial attachment. In order
to really help your pet, plaque and tartar must be removed
from both the visible tooth surface and below the gum line.
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