Why It's Important to Keep up With Your Diabetic Dog's Teeth
Just like in humans, bad teeth can spell trouble for our Diabetic Dogs. Neglecting your pup’s teeth can have wide range health consequences that go beyond stinky breath and gum disease.
Studies have linked periodontal disease in both humans and pets to systemic diseases of the kidneys and liver, heart disease, lung disease, diabetes complications and in some cases, cancer. These diseases are made worse by the constant flushing of oral bacteria into the bloodstream through inflamed or bleeding gum tissue.
On the bright side, once the bacteria is removed, the dental disease resolved and oral hygiene is maintained, many of these conditions improve or resolve all together.
When plaque isn’t removed from your pup’s teeth, it turns to tartar. Tartar sticks to the teeth and can irritate the gums. Irritated gums become inflamed (gingivitis), they turn red instead of pink and will give your pup stinky breath. If the tartar isn’t removed, it will build up under the gums and can eventually cause them to pull away from the teeth. When that happens, it creates small pockets in the gums that become areas for additional bacteria. This is known as periodontal disease.
Diabetes and gum disease often go hand in hand in pets. These two conditions feed off of each other. The more advanced the periodontal disease, the more serious the diabetes can become, which makes the periodontal disease worse. Inflammation and infection can affect blood sugar metabolism. Gum disease can also influence the regulation of diabetes in pets, because inflammation and infection decrease the body’s sensitivity to insulin.
Often, the existing periodontal disease must be treated in order to bring a pet’s diabetes under control. Once a thorough dental is done, BG (Blood Glucose) numbers should come back into line.
There are ways to keep these issues at bay. Brush your pup’s teeth every day, find a chew that is appropriate for a diabetic dog, add some plaque-off to your pup’s meals. Perform routine mouth inspections. Look inside their mouth, feel around for any loose teeth, bumps or lumps on or under the tongue, along the gum line or roof of the mouth.
Each time you take your pup in to the vet, have them do an inspection of your baby’s mouth. Just like in most things, practicing prevention now can head off larger, more expensive issues down the road.
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