Pepsi Simms

Eight-year-old crossbreed, Pepsi, from Cardiff, is one of many dogs across the UK who has had problems with his teeth.

His owner, Linda Simms, knew he needed to see a vet for his teeth after noticing a build-up of plaque and bad breath: “I took Pepsi to the PDSA hospital in Cardiff and asked them to check his teeth. They agreed his teeth needed some work to clean them up, so booked him in for surgery to see what they could do.”

PDSA vets had to remove three of Pepsi’s teeth and nurses did a scale and polish to remove the plaque. PDSA Senior Vet, Angela Heely, says: “Pepsi is one of many pets we see who have developed dental disease over time. Luckily, we only had to remove a few teeth, and we’ve got his plaque under control now. So with regular brushing, check-up’s, and a good diet, his remaining teeth should be okay.

“In most cases, if dental disease is caught early, we can often remove the plaque and save the teeth. The best way to prevent the onset of dental disease is to feed pets a balanced and healthy diet and brush a dog’s teeth daily.”

Linda continues: “We tried to clean Pepsi’s teeth when he was a puppy, but he didn’t enjoy it so eventually we gave up. Now I know that was the wrong thing to do. I’ve always been careful to feed him good food and don’t give treats, but it didn’t prevent the plaque building up. To make sure this doesn’t happen again we’re going to persevere with the tooth brushing.“
 

24/06/2010