The two most important things to do for your pets in the 21st Century

In my opinion, the two most critical things pet owner's need to do in the 21st century are purchasing Pet Health Insurance and Cleaning their pet's teeth daily.

PET HEALTH INSURANCE:

I want to begin and end with the same compelling statement: "owner's that have Pet Health Insurance spend half as much and get twice the care of non-insured pets".

All of you that have cared for your pets over the years have noticed how the cost of pet care has risen. Not just Veterinary Care, but the cost of food, flea & tick preventative, and all the fun things we buy them at the pet stores. Not a day goes by that I'm not shocked at the cost of the new lines of "gourmet" dog and cat foods. Some are upwards of two to three dollars per pound! It's now a fact that pet owners spend more money on ancillary products for their pets than they do on veterinary care. And veterinary care has risen dramatically over the last decade for many reasons. Every aspect of owning a veterinary hospital has inflated dramatically, from insurance, supplies, drugs, labor, and health insurance. So, your best hedge against these continuing rising costs is Pet Health Insurance. Just a few years ago, there was only one or two pet health insurers...now there are many. In general, the earlier you get insurance, the better. Most insurers do not cover pre-existing conditions. However, unlike our health insurance, the process is pretty simple. And they really cover the entire spectrum of illnesses and surgery. Mos are now paying for hip replacements and chemotherapy, for example.


It's a well known fact that owner's that have Pet Health Insurance spend half as much and get twice the care of non-insured pets.


CLEANING TEETH DAILY:


Those of you that know my family, know that I have 4 dentists in my family. We all know the reasons to brush our teeth daily. Most importantly, we brush daily to avoid the infection and pain of periodontal disease. So imagine if you didn't brush your teeth for months or years! Every day we see infections secondary to the periodontal disease in our patient's mouths. Infections of the bladder, kidneys, liver, skin, ears, etc. And these infections are painful, if not life threatening. One of the main reasons our pets are living longer than ever before is simply because more clients are having their pet's teeth professionally cleaned every year. We go to our dentist's twice a year and brush our teeth every day! If we're really doing our best, we're flossing daily. Dentists tell us that regular brushing and flossing extends our life 5 years. Veterinarians can also say that pet owner's that clean or brush their pet's teeth daily and have professional cleaning when needed, extend their pet's lives 25%! And since our pet's age 7 times faster than us, that 25% is huge....and painless. Not only does it extend their lives, but it tremendously decreases their health costs. Fewer infections, fewer dental cleanings under anesthesia translates into fewer dollars. Not to mention, less pain and suffering.

If you noticed, I didn't say "brush" your pet's teeth, I said "clean". After 30 years in practice, it's clear that the barrier to entry here is that it's difficult to "brush" your pet's teeth. So, I have advised my clients to go about it in a very simple, but highly effective, way. After every professional dentistry we perform, we send home a free dental kit that is simply surgical 2 inch by 2 inch gauge soaked in a liquid dentifrice. We demonstrate how you open the gauze, wrap around your index finger, and simply "wipe" the teeth, upper and lower on both sides of the mouth.....check side only. You don't have to open the mouth, you can simply slip your index finger with the dentifrice soaked gauze between the pet's cheek and teeth and rub. It has a nice taste and smell so most pet's are very receptive. For those that aren't, it's a matter of using positive rewards like small training treats in dogs. We have a video posted on our website and there is one posted on the AVMA website that demonstrates how to slowly introduce your pet to this method. ( http://www.avmatv.org/media.cfm?m=1769 ). Of course, we still recommend dental formulated dry food, rawhide (especially soaked in toothpaste), nylabones, etc. All of these things help, but nothing replaces cleaning their teeth daily.

Following these two simple and inexpensive suggestions will greatly extend your pet's lives and save you a tremendous amount of money over their lifetime. I believe it's the secret to health and longevity for our best friends.

Dr. Andy