I tell my clients that their pets need professional oral care by the veterinarian once a year. Just like with people, they need to have their teeth cleaned on a regular basis. I’ll take a picture of the pet’s teeth, ask my clients to take it home and put it on the fridge. That picture motivates them because the disease is now in front of their nose. Nobody wants a sick pet.

Some large-breed dogs like greyhounds are prone to periodontal disease, but it’s the small dogs—Yorkshire terriers, Maltese, toy poodles, Chihuahuas—that have severe periodontal disease at the youngest age. One reason is that they have the same number of teeth as larger dogs, but they are crowded and rotated into a smaller area. Small dogs just don’t have a lot of defense against periodontal disease.

It’s important to recognize that pets—cats in particular—hide disease very well. We’re often not aware of the pain from periodontal disease. I ask clients to stand in their cat’s shoes and ask them “If your mouth looked this bad when you went to the dentist, how do you think it would feel?”

A simple tip that I recommend when brushing your pet’s teeth is to put your pet on a table. It gets the pet out of its natural territory so that it’s easier to control their movement.

Studies in people suggest that periodontal disease can be the cause of inflammation; there are negative effects of periodontal disease on the body other than just the mouth. While there are fewer studies in dogs and cats, we suspect the same is true.

I call good oral health the “furry fountain of youth.” Apart from keeping your pet current on vaccines, protected against internal parasites such as heartworm and regular wellness checks by your veterinarian, there’s probably nothing more important to your pet’s health.

Another thing to understand is periodontal disease does not just stop. It is progressive. Once a pet develops stage one periodontal disease or gingivitis, the disease becomes progressive and you start to get bone loss.

No one’s going to brush their pet’s teeth every day. Some people can’t even get in their pet’s mouth, so brushing isn’t an option. Then there are the moms with little kids running all around and they say, “What, are you kidding? I don’t have time to worry about my dog’s mouth.” But what else can we do? I suggest starting with some really low-maintenance things like dental treats and chews.