Caring For Your Doberman's Teeth

​Affects of Dental Neglect

Periodontal disease is an infection in the mouth. It is caused by excess plaque and tartar buildup on the teeth and majorly affects the health of the gums. The disease is a very common ailment in small breed dogs, but can also be an issue in medium and large breeds (such as Dobermans). Periodontal disease becomes an issue for these larger sized dogs if their teeth are not cared for and cleaned regularly (neglected). Once periodontal disease sets in, it continues to worsen until the tartar is the only thing keeping the affected tooth (or teeth) attached to the gums and jaw (and therefore in the dogs mouth). Often, once periodontal disease is diagnosed, a deep cleaning is performed by a veterinary professional (usually resulting in removing the affected teeth) and then the true extent of the damage can be seen. Periodontal disease can often cause extensive damage to the entire body of the dog if left untreated.

How to Avoid Periodontal Disease

​The good news is that periodontal disease is a very avoidable disease! Most pet owners prevent it by having regular dental cleanings performed at their pet’s veterinary office. Most owners then leave their dogs teeth alone in between cleanings. This isn’t the only option for preventing periodontal disease and keeping your Doberman's mouth clean and comfortable! The better and best option is to do at home, basic, monthly mouth maintenance. By taking care of your Doberman’s teeth at home on a regular basis, not only are you keeping your dogs teeth clean and breath fresh, you can ensure that your dog’s overall health remains intact and periodontal disease is avoided. Additionally, with taking care of the teeth at home, you can avoid your dog needing professional cleanings, which means you can avoid the inherent risks of sedation or anesthesia.

What You Need to Care for Your Doberman's Teeth at Home

Basic dental tools, a firm toothbrush, and a dog safe (fluoride free) toothpaste is all you really need to keep your dogs teeth and gums healthy. There are a few dog foods and treats that claim they have the ability to keep teeth clean if fed or given regularly. There are even water additives that claim to help fight plaque buildup and prevent tartar development. While I have not tried all of the different “teeth friendly” dog foods or treats or additives, I have researched the vast majority of them and have seen the dogs that use them daily over the past half-decade in my career. For the dogs I have seen who are exclusively feed one of these specially formulated diets, I don’t think the food made a difference on their overall dental health. All the dogs had at least some plaque and tartar buildup and would have benefited from a regular, at home cleaning regiment. In my opinion, if you’re going to be committed and doing the at home cleaning routine (which we highly recommend), choosing a food for your Doberman that meets their nutritional needs can be your priority, rather than choosing a food just to prevent plaque or tartar buildup.​

Dental Anatomy

​For Dobermans, they tend to collect the most tartar and plaque on the top largest premolar. It is typical to see the bottom front molar stained - the tooth can collect plaque, but not nearly at the rate of the top largest premolar. The other spot that you’ll see the most tartar on your Doberman are the canines. On Dobermans, the incisors stay extremely clean. If your Doberman likes to scratch themselves with their teeth frequently, you will often find dog hair wedged in-between these front teeth at the gum-line. Brushing clears this up very easily, but I always imagine how uncomfortable it must be to have little hairs there whenever I see it. Keeping these spots in mind when you are doing your at home regime can help you focus on areas that need the extra attention and time.

Veterinary Dental Work vs At Home Cleanings

By doing at home cleanings, we not only prevent having to have the teeth cleaned by a veterinarian, but we also prevent the need for teeth to be pulled and removed. Dogs with pulled teeth have to adjust and adapt to a new way of eating, chewing, and even resting their tongue. I am sure we have all seen a poor little dog with its tongue sticking out of its mouth because it lost too many teeth to periodontal disease. For Dobermans, they need every teeth to perform their protection duties and to be able to chew, eat, groom, and bark appropriately. When we clean at home and prevent periodontal disease, we ensure our Dobermans can keep all their teeth for their entire lives as they are supposed to! 

Why is Dental Care so Important? 

The ultimate reason to care about your dog’s dental health is knowing how the health of their mouths impacts their overall health. When tartar buildup is on the teeth, a special type of bacteria are introduced to your dog. The tartar is the perfect place for this bacteria to live, grow, and multiply. As the gums become more and more irritated by the tartar (and thus bleed), the bacteria is able to enter the bloodstream of the dog. The bacteria then travels to the heart where it decides to make its new home! Here, the bacteria harms the heart and heart disease begins. Heart disease as many Doberman owners are very aware of, can be difficult to notice, diagnose, and treat. In a breed with inherited and known congenital heart issues and diseases, it is of utmost importance to avoid any environmental factors that can contribute to poor heart health. For Dobermans, keeping their mouths clean is more than just keeping their breath fresh and teeth looking as pretty as they do!

What else can I do to help take care of my Doberman's teeth?

Above I discounted specially designed “teeth care” type dog foods for your Doberman, but diet still absolutely plays a big part in teeth health, just like it does in humans. Diets high in sugars and too high in carbohydrates, contribute to unhealthy teeth. Dogs (and humans) require diets high in animal fats and proteins to promote good gum and teeth health. Without it, teeth become brittle, very susceptible to cavities, and the enamel deteriorates. (As a side note, we do not recommend or endorse “grain free” dog food, as grains have always been a part of canine diets in some aspect). So, choose your dog food based on quality and ratio of protein, fats and carbs, not whether it’s “good for their teeth” (if you need suggestions, please feel free to contact us for diets that work well with Dobermans and their special metabolism).

Everyone with a Doberman knows just how much they enjoy chewing! Use this to your advantage! By giving your Doberman healthy and safe chews, they can improve their dental health themselves! By chewing on appropriate items, the teeth can be naturally scraped and cleaned through chewing. This can help maintain the cleanliness of the teeth in-between your at home cleanings.

​Hopefully all this information on the dog’s teeth, and specifically those of Dobermans, is helpful to you and helps with your goal of keeping your Doberman’s mouth healthy! To avoid redundant information, our teeth cleaning methods are described and shown in the video above. For our full grooming schedule for your dogs click here. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact us!