Quick Tips
Breathe in.
There it is. That sour, meaty, rotting smell. The kind of stink that lingers in the air long after the dog’s walked away. You don’t even need to be close anymore. It’s everywhere. Embedded in the couch, in the fabric of your clothes, in your soul.
What you’re smelling is decay.
Not just old kibble stuck between molars. Not just the bacteria marinating on your dog’s gums like a science experiment nobody asked for. What you’re smelling is the slow collapse of an ecosystem. Tartar build-up. Gingivitis. Infection creeping down into the bloodstream. The kind of thing that turns a perfectly healthy dog into a surgical bill with a heartbeat.
Your dog doesn’t know. They never do. They’ll keep eating. Keep chewing through rawhide, tennis balls, whatever is left of your furniture. Meanwhile, their teeth rot like a condemned building.
And it’s your job to stop it.
Why You Need to Clean Your Dog’s Teeth (If You Love Them, That Is)
Forget the dog treats that promise fresh breath. Forget the chew toys “designed to remove plaque.” The American Veterinary Dental College says that 80% of dogs show signs of dental disease by the age of three. Eighty percent. By three.
You wouldn’t go three years without brushing your teeth. You wouldn’t kiss someone who had. But here’s your dog, panting in your face, spreading bacteria like a biological weapon.
Dental disease doesn’t just stop at the gums. The American Veterinary Medical Association warns that bacteria from untreated infections can spread to the heart, liver, and kidneys, shaving years off a dog’s life.
This isn’t about bad breath. It’s about how long your dog lives.
How to Clean Your Dog’s Teeth: The Brutal, Bloody, Unavoidable Truth
1. Choose Your Weapon and Accept the Consequences
A dog toothbrush. That’s what the experts say. A special, angled toothbrush designed for canine teeth. Soft bristles. Long handle. A tube of dog-safe toothpaste, because human toothpaste will do to your dog’s stomach what bleach does to a crime scene.
Or you could use a finger brush, but let’s be honest. You’re going to get bit. Not because they mean to. But because their mouth is full of nerves and sharp edges, and this is war.
There will be drool. There will be resistance. If your dog has never had their teeth brushed before, there will probably be blood.
2. Get Your Dog Used to the Idea of You Sticking Your Fingers in Their Mouth
You don’t just shove a brush into their mouth and expect them to say “ahh.”
Start slow. A few days before, rub your fingers along their gums. Let them taste the toothpaste. Make it a game, a casual thing. Give them a treat after. Trick them into thinking this is fun. It is not fun.
But you’re the only one who can convince them otherwise.
3. The Brushing: Hold the Jaw, Accept the Carnage
The goal is small circles, back and forth, hitting the gum line. Tartar is stubborn. It clings to the base of the teeth like barnacles on a sinking ship. You need friction, motion. You need to fight.
Your dog will try to pull away. They will twist their head, clamp their mouth shut, make noises you’ve never heard before. Keep going.
Focus on the canines and molars—those are the real problem areas. You won’t get everything in one session. This is a war of attrition. A battle you fight every day, inch by inch, until the enemy is gone.
4. Spit, Shake, Escape
Your dog will lunge away the second you loosen your grip. Let them. They’ll lick their lips, shake their head like they’ve just survived an exorcism. You, on the other hand, will be covered in drool.
If you’ve done everything right, you’ll see blood on the bristles. That’s normal. It means you hit the infected spots, the places that were ready to rot out of their skull. The places you saved.
5. The Treat: A Cheap Attempt at Redemption
Your dog doesn’t understand. They don’t know this was for their own good. But they know what a treat is. Give them one. Let them chew a dental stick, something designed to scrape off whatever you missed.
For one brief moment, they’ll forget what you’ve done.
6. Repeat Every Day Until You Die
Because this isn’t a one-time thing. You will do this again tomorrow. And the day after. And the day after that.
You will check their gums for redness. You will smell their breath for signs of infection. You will run your fingers along their teeth, feeling for loose ones, cracked ones, signs of something worse.
And if you do this—if you fight this fight every single day—your dog will live longer.
How Professionals Clean Dog Teeth
At a certain point, brushing won’t be enough. Maybe the tartar has built up too much. Maybe the gums have started to recede. Maybe you just can’t take the smell anymore.
That’s when the professionals step in.
A veterinary dental cleaning is not a cute little spa day. It is anesthesia, X-rays, ultrasonic scaling, deep cleaning below the gum line. It is the last chance before extractions start happening.
The American Veterinary Dental Society recommends professional cleanings at least once a year, depending on the dog. For breeds prone to dental disease—Yorkies, Chihuahuas, Greyhounds—it’s not a recommendation. It’s a death sentence if you ignore it.
A pro cleaning can cost hundreds of dollars. Extractions, if it comes to that, cost even more.
Brush your dog’s teeth now. Or pay later.
Final Thoughts
So you have brushed your dog’s teeth. Or at least, you have tried.
Maybe they fought you. Maybe they let you. Maybe you’re wondering if you can really do this every day for the next ten years.
You can. Because you love them. Because you’re the only one who can do this for them. Because in a world full of things you can’t control, you can at least control this.
And that’s something.