Читать книгу The Veterinary Dental Patient: A Multidisciplinary Approach - Группа авторов - Страница 89

It has long been believed that traditional dry dog food is good for oral health, and one study appeared to support this (Gawor et al. 2006). However, other studies show that dry food is not superior to moist foods in this regard (Harvey et al. 1996). There are several specially formulated diets available that have been shown to decrease plaque and tartar build‐up (Jensen et al. 1995). These products simply employ abrasives to scrape the teeth. The individual kibbles in these therapeutic diets tend to be larger than those in standard pet food (Vrieling et al. 2005; Hennet et al. 2007), which increases the amount of chewing performed and the efficacy of the abrasive aspects (Larsen 2010) (Figure 5.10). Many products also contain a calcium chelator¹⁶ to further reduce dental calculus (Lage et al. 1990; Liu 2002; White et al. 2002; Stookey and Warrick 2005; Hennet et al. 2007).

Numerous products in this segment have received the VOHC seal as effective in tartar (and in some cases, plaque) reduction.^{17,18,19,20,21} However, even though these products may decrease plaque and calculus, many are only effective on the cusp tips, not at the gingival margin (Stookey and Warrick 2005). This is an important point as supragingival plaque and calculus are nonpathogenic, so minimal control of gingivitis may be obtained via this method of calculus control (Roudebush et al. 2005). Of the available diets, only one²² has been scientifically proven to decrease gingivitis (Logan et al. 1999, 2002; Logan 2001). The main reason for this product's effectiveness is the fiber arrangement within the kibble, which requires the tooth to fully enter the kibble prior to its breaking apart, allowing the entire tooth (including the marginal area) to be cleaned (Figure 5.11a,b).

Figure 5.10 Kibbles intended for oral hygiene (right) are larger than normal pet food kibbles (left).