By age three, most dogs and cats have some evidence of periodontal disease (often called “gum disease”), which can cause tooth loss and infections in other areas of a pet’s body and lead to heart, kidney, and liver disease. Yet research shows many pet owners don’t know that periodontal disease is one of the most common and preventable pet dental diseases. Moreover, many pet owners don’t recognize the warning signs, even when those signs are pungently evident.
Example: According to a recent survey by the Pert Group, more than half of pet owners admitted their pets had bad breath—some to the point where they avoided cuddling with their pets. Yet most pet owners didn’t know a pet’s bad breath could be an indication of a greater oral health issue.
This is not to say pet owners don’t think about pet dental health. Many, for example, believe kibble will clean their pet’s teeth. Yet as Ryan Gates, DVM, recently pointed out in an interview with Pumpkin, kibble only provides friction to certain areas of tooth enamel but isn’t that effective where veterinary dentists spend most of their time scaling and scraping plaque during cleanings.
Compounding pet dental care misconceptions, few pet owners brush their pet’s teeth (important to a pet’s overall health, according to the AVMA), and studies cite a lack of preventive dental home care information given to veterinary clients by practices.
So, how do you easily give your clients home care information that supports pet dental health—and saves time for your practice while maintaining efficiency?
Download our free Pet Dental Health Awareness Kit with tools to help educate your clients about the risks of periodontal disease and how to avoid them through pet dental care.
Available for a limited time, our kit includes:
- An infographic with pet dental health tips for clients
- Two educational handouts for clients that you can print and hand to clients or send by email:
- Brushing Your Cat’s Teeth: Synopsis of a ClientEd Handout
- Brushing Your Dog’s Teeth: Synopsis of a ClientEd Handout
- Three social media images that you can post on Facebook to further educate your clients about the importance of pet dental health
- A pre-written email template for your clients—5 Common Pet Dental Health Questions Answered
