# Teeth Cleaning



## Bethany (Mar 16, 2009)

Have any of you ever taken your Chihuahua to get their teeth cleaned by the vet? We took Spike, our Poodle this past winter, because he really needed it. But seeing as hes 20 lbs and has been put under before with no problems, I wasn't too worried. His teeth are now nice and white . I was thinking Toodlelou needs her teeth cleaned, because they look kinda dirty. But I'm afraid of taking her to get it done, because they have to put her to sleep. I don't have a scale small enough to weigh her, but I think shes 2.5-3 lbs.


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

How old is she? If she hasnt been spayed yet then maybe you could have it done then? I know my vet has a new thing they put on the teeth and if well taken care of them then you can go longer periods of time without having them cleaned. I have had my Yoshi's pulled and cleaned when done so but I have yet to want to just have him gassed for just cleaning (but I am a worry wart, LOL;-) ) I am sure if you found a vet that is experienced in Chihuahuas and small animals then you should be fine


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## *Tricia* (Dec 1, 2007)

I am a HUGE believer in Petzlife Oral Care Gel - you can get it at Petsmart. You just rub the gel on their gums at nighttime (no eating or drinking 1/2 hour before or 1/2 hour after) and it totally cleans their teeth. In the beginning, you'll have to use it every night for about a month or until you see all the plaque is gone, and then every couple days to keep the teeth white. I use the original flavor, which is peppermint, and Holly really likes the taste of it. She ends up licking off my fingers when I'm done


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## huskyluv (Oct 24, 2008)

I'm a fan of PetzLife Oral Care as well. I use the spray on both my husky and my chi in the original formula. Neither seems to care for the taste but they tolerate it and I have been very impressed with the results. Our Faith got her teeth cleaned when she was under for her spay so they are nice and white. Our Dakota has never had his teeth cleaned (he's 3.5 yrs old) and his teeth look great! I use the PetzLife regularly for maintenance.

And as far as making a believer out of me, when I bought the PetzLife my husky had mild tartar build up on his teeth. Over a 2 week period I sprayed his teeth only THREE separate times and when I brushed his teeth after that the build up was actually popping off his teeth (literally)! My mother in law is using it for her chi's and she's getting the same results without having to put her furkids under and deal with the risks associated with it.


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## ~*Jessie*~ (Aug 8, 2007)

We use the Petzlife gel here too, and it's great! 

We also feed the chis a raw diet which has helped as well.

Chloe had a retained baby tooth which our new vet discovered a few months back, so she had it pulled and had a dental at the same time. Her teeth weren't bad at the time, but since she was already getting the tooth pulled we decided to do the dental anyway.


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## Yoshismom (Jul 6, 2005)

Thanks for the info on this gel. I have purchased a couple of pricey thing's online and I wished that I knew I could have just went to PetsMart...hehehe


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## Mom of 4 Chi's (Apr 3, 2009)

This time last year I took Lola to have her teeth cleaned,have her baby teeth that hadn't fallen out yet removed, and spayed all at the same time. She was two years old then and weighed in at 3 pounds. I had blood work done the week before to make sure everything checked out ok before I took the risk of putting her under anethsia. All checked ok, so I went ahead with the surgery. Turns out, when my vet was able to get a good look in her mouth she needed to have 17 teeth pulled!!! I only thought she needed a few front teeth done, but then again she has such a tiny mouth I could never get a good look inside. Anyways, since my vet had to remove so many teeth he didn't want to keep her under to long so he didn't do the spay. If you are worried I would suggest having a blood test done. I believe it's called a superchem/cbc test? I'm sure your vet will know what your talking about if you say you just want to make sure it's safe to put your chi under anesthsia. I was real scared to put Lola under, but having the test done made me feel better. Another benefit of having blood work done is that if you regularly get it done, like once every year or two, you will see if anything changes. I do brush all my chi's teeth. They love the doggie toothpaste! I admit it's hard to get the back teeth. I probably don't even get them, but the front teeth are nice and white. My goal is to have their teeth professionally cleaned at least once every two years. More often if they need it of course. Good luck and lets us know what you decide.


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## bniles4 (Aug 4, 2008)

no, i don't take sophie. i do them  i've brushed them afew times, buti have these pads that to her taste yummy and i just clean them that way. i was told to do it everyday. but i do it a few times a month.
i cant find it on the target website but i got it from there.


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## Bethany (Mar 16, 2009)

She went to the vet for a checkup of her teeth. He said they need to be cleaned, and also that for some reason she never lsot her baby teeth. So she has both sets and needs to get some pulled. So thats the reason they need to be cleaned also. We've got an appt on the 24th I believe, so we'll have to see how it goes..


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## lynx8456 (Feb 26, 2009)

We do Jasper's with a rubber finger brush and beef toothpaste.
He loves it and the results are very good!


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## *Tricia* (Dec 1, 2007)

If she needs teeth pulled, then yes, definitely get the cleaning while she's under anesthesia anyway. After they're all nice and clean, I recommend getting some PetzLife to keep them that way and she should never need a cleaning again


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## Bethany (Mar 16, 2009)

Ill have to look into buying that next time I get out of town and to the pet store.
Thanks


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## Spirit (May 25, 2013)

Has anyone ever used tropiclean products for their chi's teeth?


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## lilbabyvenus (Feb 8, 2009)

Spirit said:


> Has anyone ever used tropiclean products for their chi's teeth?


I would try asking in a new thread, some of these people aren't here anymore, this is a really old thread...

I've heard of people getting good results with the Tropiclean, but I've only used PetzLife so I can't speak from experience if it works or not.


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## Spirit (May 25, 2013)

Thank you ever so much for responding. Chi people are so nice.


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