I'm going to share some insight into optimizing pet dental and how what you are feeding your pets can play a major role in oral health!

Worried About Your Pet's Dental Health: Kibble May Be The Culprit

If you’re a pet parent, your furry pal’s dental health is probably at the forefront of your mind. After all, pets can suffer from tooth decay and gum disease just like their human counterparts – and it can lead to serious health problems if left untreated. Unfortunately, many pet owners have been relying on starchy kibble to maintain their pet’s dental health, unaware of how this food choice can be detrimental.

How Can I Tell if The Food is High in Carbohydrates?

Your pet’s body is not adapted to the high starch content in some kibbles. This means that when they eat it, the carbohydrates ferment and create harmful bacteria in their mouth. Over time, this bacteria will wear away at their teeth and cause gum inflammation, ultimately leading to tooth decay. If the first few ingredients are grains or starches like corn, wheat, rice or potatoes then it likely has a high carb content. To work out how much carbohydrates are in pet food, add together the protein, fat, moisture and ash amounts on the pet food packaging. If ash amounts are not listed you can assume 8% for dry food. Then take away 100 from this number. This will tell you how many carbohydrates there are in the pet food. Calculating the amount of carbs in wet food will be part of a follow-up blog post!

You Have Options at Your Disposal!

So what’s a pet parent to do? Commercial raw diets like Steve's Real Food & Stella & Chewy's are more biologically appropriate for your pet and can help improve pet dental health through better nutrition. These diets contain fewer carbohydrates than kibble and are more easily digested, resulting in less overall bacteria buildup. Plus, raw diets can help picky eaters, improve pet digestion and provide a host of other health benefits.

Pay the Vet or Invest in your Pet's Diet

So if you’re serious about your pet’s dental health, it may be time to switch from starchy kibble to a commercial raw diet. Not only will your pet’s teeth thank you, but their overall health might too!

Happy snacking!

p.s. Franklin's (my German Ghepherd) skin, coat & digestive issues all went away after switching to commercialized raw diets (we like to rotate). His vet also is blown away by the lack of tartar & plaque build-up on his teeth for a 3-year-old! My 1 year old cat Harriet also loves her raw diet. There's no crying for food in the middle of the night because she knows meal time is worth the wait!