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What can I use on my cat's teeth at home?
If you’d like to prevent or reduce your cat’s dental disease, doing some dental care at home could reduce tartar formation and the development of periodontal disease. However, there are some limitations to this:
Some cats won’t tolerate or get very stressed by having their mouth touched, or having products added to their food or water, especially if this isn’t started when they are kittens
Some of the dental diseases that cats get (such as FORLs) aren’t preventable through home care
The evidence base for many dental home care products is extremely limited. The Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) will put their seal of approval on products with evidence to support them, but many of these products are unsuitable for cats or unavailable in the UK.
If you do start a dental home care routine for your cat, the best way is to do it gradually and keep stress to a minimum. Some options for home care in cats include...
Toothbrushes and pastes
Any flavoured enzymatic toothpaste (such as Plaqtiv+ or Orozyme) can be used with a finger brush to brush your cat’s teeth daily. This is the most effective way of preventing dental disease, but not all cats will tolerate it, and it shouldn’t be done in painful mouths.
If a cat won’t tolerate a toothbrush, or if you’d like your cat to gradually get used to having their mouth touched, Plaqtiv+ Dental Wipes can be used.
For cats with gingivitis but no tartar (eg. juvenile gingival hyperplasia or gingivostomatitis), Dentihex paste can be applied to the gums. This contains an antiseptic which reduces the bacterial load in the mouth.
Diet
The following cat dental diets have the VOHC seal of approval:
Hill’s t/d Dental Care
Hill’s Science Plan Oral Care
Royal Canin Dental
Purina Proplan DH Dental Health
These can all be fed as complete diets. They usually have large biscuits that cats need to chew more, having an abrasive action on the teeth and gums.
The following cat dental treats have the VOHC seal of approval:
Greenies dental treats
Whiskas Dentabites
Purina Dentalife treats
However the manufacturers recommend that cats eat large numbers of the treats to see the desired effect, so you need to reduce their usual diet accordingly, and care must be taken to avoid weight gain.
Food and water additives
ProDen PlaqueOff powder has the VOHC seal of approval, but it can’t be used in cats with thyroid disease as it can affect their iodine levels. If your cat tolerates it and you choose to use PlaqueOff long term, we advise using it every other day rather than daily to reduce the risk of it affecting their thyroid.
Plaqtiv+ Water Additive has a VOHC seal of approval for dogs, and can be used in cats. However, care must be taken to ensure that your cat isn’t averse to the taste and that they are still drinking plenty of water and not getting dehydrated. This is particularly important in older cats or cats with kidney or urinary disease.
Any further questions?
If you'd like to purchase any of the above products, or you have any more questions about this topic (or anything else!), send us a WhatsApp and we'd be happy to help.
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