Tooth Brushing

Question
QUESTION: I have a small (2lb) 7 month old yorkie.  Should I be brushing her teeth?  If so, how?  what do I need to get?  

I also need to know if there is anything I can do to help her lose her back baby teeth.  The permanent ones are coming in and the others are still there.  I dont want her to get some nasty infection or anything.  I have bought her the Kong teething roll as well as the puppy Kong.  When do I get concerned and taker her to  the vet?  When she went for her shots, he said they could take them out but would have to put her to sleep and that scares me.  Any other suggestions would we greatly appreciated.

ANSWER: A puppy usually loses their back molars by the age of 4 months. That is one way we check their age. Maybe he was mistaken and that the teeth back there are her adult teeth already. If not, then you get them removed when she is spayed. She is a bit underweight for her age so is she getting a good diet or were her parents really small?
How are her canine teeth? In my experience those are the last ones that come in and the back molars are usually in by then.

Have the vet look at them again or take her to a vet that does more dental work on dogs.

Yes you should be brushing her teeth daily. Use a very soft small brush and only toothpaste from the vets. You can also use a finger brush that the vet has.

Hills makes a diet just for dental health that can be used as a full time diet so you might want to think about that. It is called T/D.


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: The vet showed me where it was her baby tooth and the adult tooth.  The baby one is pushed to the side and out, you can feel it when you pet her face.  

I am feeding her Fromm Whitefish and Potato and she is a good eater.  

I have no idea about her parents since I got her at a pet store.  

Is there any toothpaste I can get at a local petstore that is just as good?  If not I will have to contact another vet as mine does not have toothpaste.

Thank you

Answer
I am not sure why you are feeding this dog a novel diet like Whitefish and potato. When you feed a food like this to a dog that has no allergy problems you take away one more food that can be fed to her if she does develop problems later on.
She should be on a more balanced diet like Science Diet Puppy Growth Small bites. That would really help her size and her teeth also.
It has just the right balance of nutrients to help growth strong and healthy puppies that live a long, long time.

Any toothpaste made for a dog is fine. Human brands have toxic levels of flourides in them. Since we don't swallow our toothpaste that is okay for us but dogs lick it all down.

A vet that does not carry toothpaste must not have a very good dental treatment plan at his practice. That makes me leery of his services when you have a dog that is likely to have dental problems throughout her life since Yorkies are really prone to dental problems.

Get her on a better diet and that will help and brush her teeth every day.
Another thought on her baby teeth, if the new tooth is pushing out the baby tooth chances are they are pretty loose and you could probably wiggle them out with your fingers.