Some pet owners hold the belief that it is okay for a dog or cat to clean their wounds by licking them, and that their mouths are far cleaner than that of their human counterparts. This is of course a myth.
The number of bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and other germs that are present in your pet’s mouth varies throughout the day, and depends on what has been in the pet’s mouth recently.
Dogs routinely pick up sticks or other objects off the ground using their mouths, sniff the feces left behind by other animals, and engage in mutual sniffing when greeting a friendly new dog. Add this to the fact that they lick their fur, eat off the floor, and otherwise are not too cautious about what they put into their mouths.
Cats are bit more reserved when it comes to eating decomposing things on the ground, but this reserved nature also means they are more meticulous in their grooming routines. We also must consider, the litter box situation. Before grooming there was no doubt a trip into the litter box, where they dug and sniffed around. Some cats even get so excited by a fresh litter box that they roll around in it. How often is the litter box cleaned? How often are we just scooping, and not dumping it out and scrubbing the box?
Let’s take a closer look at our pets mouths. We can’t visually see bacteria with the naked eye, but we can see some evidence of its presence. Do you see any yellow/brown colouring on their teeth? This is most likely calculus (tartar). It can range from a thin line along the gums, to a thick coating over the teeth. This calculus is made up of mineralized plaque. Plaque is a sticky substance that you can’t see but you can sometimes feel. It feels how your teeth feel when you first wake up, before you brush your teeth. This plaque is made up of a collection of bacterial cells that were in our saliva.
To break it down:
100 billion bacterial cells are shed in your pet’s saliva every day.
10 million bacteria make 1 mg of plaque form on your pets teeth.
In 48 hours plaque mineralizes into calculus (tartar)
Calculus acts as a bodyguard for even more bacteria.
It becomes obvious that there are lots of bacteria present in your pet’s mouth. If you allow them to lick at a wound, rather than cleaning the wound it is more likely that they are contaminating it with harmful bacteria.
The best thing we can do is provide our pets with dental care. Your veterinarian team can help you make a dental plan for your pet, often pets will need a complete dental cleaning and oral health assessment to start. Then together we can discuss home dental care options such as the use of dental diets, dental treats and chews, oral rinses, and tooth-brushing, to decide what is going to be the most beneficial and enjoyable for you and your companion.
