Many dogs are resistant to brushing of teeth, which is essential to maintain their oral hygiene. Dental chews are a product that will remove plaque and tartar through the regular chewing process. Many vets recommend that resistant canines be fed the best dog dental chews to clean their teeth.
Even owners of dogs who do not mind getting their teeth brushed should offer their pet dental treats as a strategy to reward them for being so co-operative. It is always important to work with the vet to develop an elaborate oral hygiene strategy and plaque-removing treats are a good component of the plan.
Contents
Best Dog Dental Chew: Greenies Dog Treats
The Greenies Original Regular Size Natural Dental Dog Treats (36 oz pack) is made up of natural ingredients and contains many vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. The unique texture of the Greenies dental chews cleans down to the gumline to fight plaque and tartar and freshen breath.
The Greenies treats for dogs are vet recommended and certified by the Veterinary Oral Health Council.
Benefits of Dog Dental Chews
Some are ignorant that dogs also require to maintain oral hygiene whereas some other pet owners refuse to accept it citing lack of oral care in wild animals, including wolves, coyotes and canines.
Why should your dog need to brush his teeth when wolves and other canines in the wild don’t? After all your dog is not hunting and stripping carcass flesh with his teeth but in all probability eats kibble and home cooked meals of rice and chicken.
It may be true that wolves and many other yesteryear ancestors of our dogs do not employ oral hygiene measures in the wild, but it is equally true that many of them lose their canines or break them because they do not brush their teeth. This is painful, causes loss of appetite or eventually cause starvation.
However, it is also true that dogs hate getting their teeth brush. Such resistant dogs have to be taken to a vet where they have to be sedated or require to be administered general anesthesia simply so that their teeth can be brushed without them creating much fuss.
Cut to dog dental chews, a product that has been designed to remove bacteria-causing plaque and tartar through the routine chewing process. Even owners of dogs who don’t mind having their teeth brushed regularly should offer dental chews as complementary strategies for being co-operative.
Though it is important to consult a vet to develop a complete oral hygiene plan for your pet, it is equally important that dental chews play an important role in it.
The 10 Best Dog Dental Chews of 2023
If you are looking for the best dog dental chews that can keep your fido’s teeth healthy and clean then these are the options you must consider.
1. Greenies Dog Dental Chews Dog Treats
The Greenies Dog Dental Chews Dog Treats are loaded with natural ingredients that contain many essential vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. It is available as a 36 oz pack of Greenies dental chews that have a unique texture that can fight plaque and tartar right to the gumline and freshen breath. The Greenies Dog Dental Chews are vet recommended and the Veterinary Oral Health Council certified.
- Nice toothbrush shaped Greenies that your dog will find delightful.
- An odd customer complained that he received a container that was past the expiry date and that the product was infested with worms.
2. Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews
Periodontal health issues are the number one diagnosed health problems in dogs and can affect their overall health. This is a unique product to keep your pet’s mouth healthy with regular dental care at home.
Virbac’s C.E.T Enzymatic Oral Hygiene Chews for dogs, with the exclusive dual enzyme system, are made from select beefhide to combine a natural antiseptic with an abrasive texture that functions with the dog’s chewing action to loosen tartar and control plaque.
- This product combines natural antiseptic activity with abrasive action to loosen tartar and effectively control plaque.
- Provides dental care for all pets, regardless of size, age, temperament or time limitations of owners.
- The chews are large in size hence they are not suitable to be given to small breed dogs directly. Additionally, these are also not at all recommended for small breed puppies. However, you can break it into small pieces as a treat to adult small breed dogs.
3. Bully Sticks Supreme Bully Sticks (All-Natural Dog Treats)
These dental chews are made from quality, free-range, grass-fed beef. Being durable and long lasting, the bully sticks scrape away tartar and plaque through chewing action.
Each bully stick is packed with protein and other essential vitamins that should be part of a healthy diet. Made from natural beef, these 100% digestible dog chews never splinter and are completely safe for your pet.
- This is an excellent alternative to raw hide and the bully sticks are free of any additives, hormones or toxic chemicals.
- They help to keep the teeth clean and are great at removing plaque and tartar.
- They are totally safe as they never splinter.
- A few customers claim that they do not receive consistent quality of bully sticks for their repeat orders. Some have complained that the sticks are so thin that their dog is able to finish it up in five minutes flat.
4. Milk-Bone MaroSnacks Dog Treats for All Sizes
This comes as a 40 oz canister of wholesome delicious treats that you can feel good about giving. It is tasty and nutritious with real bone marrow.
The delicious treat is rich in calcium and to help maintain strong teeth.
- This can be used as reward for training and is actually more exciting than training treats.
- This is a pretty big size canister at a great price and is completely air tight. The jar is multi-purpose and can be used to store other dog foods, treats etc.
- Some customers have complained that this product is high in sugar content and can be harmful for aging, diabetic dogs.
5. PEDIGREE Dentastix Dental Treats for Dogs
This product comes as a case of four, each case containing 15 dentastix grain free, dog chews. It is apt for dogs with sensitive stomachs or unique dietary needs and is free of corn, soya, wheat, other artificial flavors and dyes.
This savory treat comes with a special chewy texture that dogs love but at the same time provides oral care by helping to clean between the teeth and down to the gumline.
- Pedigree Dentastix dog treats are known to fight tartar and plaque build-up as well as freshens up breath while providing oral care.
- It is also free from any soya, wheat, corn or any other additives such as dyes and other toxic chemicals.
- Customers have complained that these dental chews go hard and stale very quickly. Within a week of opening the bag, these treats turn rock hard and lose their smell and enough to repel a dog.
6. SmartBones Rawhide-Free Dog Chews
This dog dental chew is made from peanut butter, chicken and vegetables and is enriched with essential vitamins and minerals.
The big thing about this product is that it is raw hide free and easily digestible. Chewing helps in keeping the teeth properly brushed and maintains oral hygiene of the dog.
- These treats are neither too hard nor too soft. Your doggy will love to gnaw on it till they are completely gone. The peanut butter part is a big hit with the dogs.
- Comes with sorbitol as a sweetener, so think again if your dog is a diabetic. Sorbitol is also a laxative commonly used for digestive issues.
7. Dingo Tartar and Breath Dental Sticks for All Dogs
This dog dental chew comes with the irresistible flavor of real chicken inside stick which is a dog treat, while the chewing action gives a thorough brushing to your dog’s teeth.
This fights tartar and plaque build up while massaging gums for good oral health and freshens up breath.
- Customers have reported that the product is excellent when it comes to freshening up the breath while a few other say that vets have complemented them on the clean and healthy condition of their dog.
- This is a rawhide product so those of you averse to having your pet anything to do with rawhide please be cautious of buying this product.
8. N-Bone Puppy Teething Treats
This is a product for the pups. This dog dental chew is highly palatable and ideal for pups of all sizes. Made from natural ingredients, the N-bone Puppy Teething Treat is a safe choice for puppy’s new teeth and helps soothe teething pain and sore gums. What is more is that it has a great taste and is completely edible and easily digestible.
- Customers have rated this dog chew very highly after trying out various other teething treats as their respective pups found it to be very attractive.
- Perfect for any puppy that is teething to distract his attention from going after your cords and shoes.
- Some customers found it too soft and small for their liking. The treat is less durable and some customers complain it barely lasted a minute even when fed to a six month pup.
9. Purina DentaLife Small/Medium Adult Dog Treats
This Purina dog dental chew is a great choice for small/medium size adult dogs. It has been scientifically proven that feeding this product to the dog led to 57% reduction in tartar build up, which freshens up breath.
Each treat has eight ridges and a porous texture, which help to clean hard-to-reach teeth down to the gumline.
Furthermore, the design of the treat is innovative and the texture is chewy. It is also free of artificial flavors or colors. A pouch contains 40 treats.
- Customers have written reviews that their dog’s teeth were much better than earlier and the breath had considerably freshened up thanks to this dog dental chew.
- Product contains too much sugar, so please be cautious if your dog is diabetic.
10. VetIQ Minties Dog Dental Bone Treats
These dog dental treats have been carefully designed and positioned for maximum tooth abrasion.
It helps to clean teeth, freshen breath and remove plaque and tartar.
- It is quick acting with the teeth starting to show great improvement after feeding the first treat itself.
- It also helped to freshen the breath and dogs were able to get better dental checkup from the vet after beginning to eat these dental chews.
- Customers also say they give one at bedtime every day, which acts as the toothbrush for the dog.
- Customers have been dissatisfied with the smell of the product, which they feel can be big put off, despite the dogs loving it big time.
Buyers’ Guide
We have listed the top 10 brands in the category of dog dental chews for our readers. Still if there is confusion in your mind regarding what kind of product to buy, then we are going to discuss in this part the different types of dog chews, what features need to be considered before buying a dog chew and answered a few FAQs as well.
Types of Dog Dental Treats
A large variety of dog dental treats and diets claim to reduce plaque and tartar or freshen breath. Some have voluntarily been tested and earned the VOHC’s certification. Though most of them are available in stores, some can only be purchased through vets. Some of the main types are:
1. Dental diets
These are dry kibble-like chews that are not only rich in nutrition but also help to keep you pet’s teeth clean, freshen its breath and removes plaque. These usually consist of larger than dry kibble and are so designed to have ridges or nubs for mechanically cleaning the teeth of food particles.
2. Dental treats
Some products look like ordinary doggy chew but are combined with specific substances or even medication to improve canine oral health. For instance, there are dental treats that are combined with 10% chlorhexidine gluconate which helps kill bacteria within the oral cavity.
3. Rawhide chews and bully sticks
These are excellent dog dental chews as they can greater withstand the chewing force of dogs. They are also very rich in proteins as these are sourced from animals. Having said that, you still need to be careful before buying lest you end up with a mediocre product.
4. Chew toys
Some doggie toys are designed with ridges or nubs help extract debris from a dog’s mouth. Canines are naturally playful and love to bite and pull onto things. Doggie toys come with refillable compartments that can be filled with treats. The rubber material is considered safe for chewing so that your dog gets an opportunity to clean his teeth while enjoying delicious treats at the same time.
Important Factors To Be Considered
Assessing the chewing strength of your pet
If you’re planning to give a dog dental chew to your pup, rawhide or cow hooves may not be the best product for it. Their chewing force will be negligible compared to the toughness of the doggie dental chew. The texture should be chewy. It shouldn’t be ultra-soft because there will be no opportunity for mechanical extraction of particles for the teeth.
On the contrary, if you have an adult dog and giving him ultra soft dog chews would be expensive because he would be able to deal with them in minutes. What would be needed are treats that can withstand chewing, and are tougher.
Look at the ingredients
Dental chews for dogs come in various types. Some are manufactured as a healthy treat whereas others go for the more natural ingredients without any added ingredients. In case you want something nutritious for the pet, you need to look carefully at the ingredients.
Though dogs thrive on high protein diet, particularly for building and maintaining body tissues. However, too much protein may not be great for pets with kidney ailments as these big molecules will make the kidneys work double the time to get filtered from the blood so that they do not get excreted along with urine.
This can put added pressure on the kidneys, which if it is already in a poor state, can lead to worsening of its condition. Preference should be given to natural ingredients, any synthetic ingredients should be sufficiently safe for consumption and should be as low in proportion as possible.
Consider giving your hound raw bone
Plenty of entertainment raw bones are available whose main purpose is to clean the canine’s teeth and oral cavity. Though mostly these are sourced from organic and anti-biotic free animals, the word “mostly” signifies that some manufacturers also resort to dubious practice.
Which is why your dog needs to be supervised each time he is chewing on a raw bone, which can get chipped and swallowed, injuring the lining of the digestive tract or get lodged in the tummy.
Pick natural dental chews prudently
On the lines of raw bone, manufacturers offer other natural dog chews such as bully sticks, rawhide, cow hooves, pork ears, deer antlers etc. These can make great dog chews as they are tough to withstand chewing force of your canine buddy. However, you have to choose judiciously because these are sourced from animals.
It is important to make sure that the animals these products are obtained from were raised and processed using natural and organic methods. No antibiotics, bleaching agents, additives, hormones or any other harsh substances that can prove toxic should not have been used.
FAQs
Vets recommend a dental care routine that includes daily dental brushing and oral examinations at least once every year. Daily dental maintenance can be conveniently provided by feeding one dental chew once a day.
Quality dog chews help to clean plaque and prevent tartar build-up. They also help to clean teeth and freshen breath. Regular chewing treats are healthy for the gums and make teeth stronger.
Dog chews help to maintain the oral hygiene of your pet throughout his lifetime. During chewing salivary glands are activated and produce saliva in the mouth. Its anti-bacterial property destroys bacteria and roots out plaque and tartar.
Your dog should chew on at least 30 minutes every day. This will prevent huge amounts of plaque and make teeth more whitening.
Plaque contains millions of bacteria, which can cause gum infections. As a result gum tissues leave the root of the teeth and increase the possibility of losing teeth.