You brush your dog's teeth by using a soft dog toothbrush or a finger brush together with toothpaste made for dogs, and by moving the brush in small, circular motions along the gum line on the outside of the teeth. The most important thing is not to reach the entire mouth from day one, but to make it a calm, short and steady part of everyday life that the dog gets used to gradually. Human toothpaste must never be used, because it contains substances that dogs cannot tolerate swallowing. Below you get the entire procedure step by step, so that both you and the dog get through it well.

How to get the dog used to having its mouth touched

Before the actual tooth brushing begins, the dog needs to be comfortable with you touching its mouth at all. Start by sitting calmly next to the dog during a relaxed moment, and let it sniff your finger. Gently lift the lip and touch the teeth and gums for a few seconds at a time. Praise the dog calmly and stop while it is still a good experience. Repeat this over several days, until the dog lets you lift the lip and touch the teeth without pulling away. This phase may seem slow, but it is the very foundation: a dog that associates mouth touching with something pleasant cooperates far more easily when the brush comes out.

Feel free to choose a fixed time, for example in the evening after the last walk of the day, when the dog is full and tired. A dog with a high activity level needs to have burned off some energy before it can lie still, while a dog with a more moderate everyday life often settles down faster. Adjust the time according to when your particular dog is most relaxed.

Choose the right toothbrush and toothpaste for dogs

You can use an ordinary dog toothbrush with a long handle or a finger brush that fits on the fingertip like a little cap. The finger brush gives you more feel and seems less frightening to dogs that are new to it, while the long-handled brush reaches better into the rear molars on larger dogs. For small dogs, a finger brush or a brush with a small brush head is often easiest to maneuver in the smaller mouth. Whatever your choice, the bristles should be soft so they do not irritate the gums.

The toothpaste must be developed for dogs. It is made to be swallowed and typically comes in a flavor the dog likes, which in itself makes the whole exercise easier. Human toothpaste contains, among other things, fluoride and foaming agents that dogs should not ingest, and must therefore be kept entirely out of the picture. Let the dog lick a little toothpaste off your finger the first few times, so it gets to know the taste before it encounters it on a brush.

Step by step when you brush the dog's teeth

Once the dog is comfortable with touch and knows the taste of the toothpaste, you can put it all together. Put a small amount of toothpaste on the moist brush. Gently lift the dog's lip, and place the brush at a slight angle against the gum line on the outside of the teeth. Move the brush in small, circular motions and work your way from the front teeth back toward the molars. It is the outside of the teeth that collects the most plaque, so always begin there. If the dog accepts it, you can gently reach the inside as well, but that is secondary, and many dogs clean part of the inside themselves with the tongue.

The first few times, you do not need to reach the whole mouth. Brush a few teeth, praise the dog and stop. Build up slowly, so that after a week or two you get all the way around in under a minute. Keep a calm voice and avoid holding the muzzle tightly, as that makes most dogs tense up. Finish each time with something positive, so the session remains a good experience rather than a battle.

How often should the teeth be brushed?

Daily brushing gives the best result, because plaque forms continuously and hardens into tartar if it is allowed to sit. If you cannot manage it every day, a few times a week is better than nothing at all, but the more consistent the routine, the less plaque has time to accumulate between sessions. A short daily round is often easier to keep up than a thorough treatment now and then, precisely because the dog knows what is going to happen, and because it becomes an ingrained habit for you both.

Fit the brushing into a fixed pattern in everyday life, ideally linked to something that happens every day anyway. That way it becomes a natural part of the routine rather than an extra task you have to remember.

Chew products that support clean teeth

Tooth brushing is the most effective daily effort, but chewing activity is a good supplement between brushings. When the dog chews, some plaque is mechanically scraped off the teeth, while the chewing at the same time keeps it occupied and calms many dogs down. For dogs with special dietary needs there are grain-free options such as GRAIN-FREE CLASSIC DENTAL DELIGHTS, GRAIN-FREE BEEF & GAME DENTAL DELIGHTS and GRAIN-FREE BEEF & RABBIT DENTAL DELIGHTS, which are completely grain-free and therefore suit dogs where a grain-free diet is relevant.

If you want to gather the options in one place, you will find them in the TEETH DELIGHTS collection, where relevant products are gathered with the wellbeing of the teeth and mouth in mind, including COLLAGEN & CURCUMA TEETH DELIGHTS and CHAMOMILE & SAGE TEETH DELIGHTS. See it as a supplement to brushing and not as a replacement, because even good chew products do not reach quite as thoroughly along the gum line as a brush does.

Bad breath and what diet means for oral hygiene

Bad breath is often the first thing owners notice, and it is closely connected to what is happening in the mouth. A consistent brushing routine keeps plaque down and therefore also helps keep the breath fresh. If you find that your dog's breath changes markedly, or if the gums look irritated, you should contact your veterinarian, who can assess whether there is a need for a dental cleaning or other treatment. If you want to read more about the connection between food and fresh breath, you can dive into the guide "Dog food against bad breath".

Diet also plays a role in everyday wellbeing. ESSENTIAL FOODS' meals are composed of fresh raw materials and human-grade ingredients and prepared with care, and all of our dog meals are premium. If you are in doubt about what suits your particular dog best, ESSENTIAL FOODS' nutrition advisors are ready by phone, chat or email and will help you with questions about feeding, food and nutrition. If you have a puppy, you can also get everything sorted out in our well-thought-out Puppy Universe, where the advice comes directly from us.

How to start early and keep it up throughout life

The earlier you begin, the easier it becomes. A puppy that gets used to brushing from the start takes it as a matter of course for the rest of its life, while an adult dog typically needs a little longer to accept the routine. No matter where you start, the same applies: calm, short sessions and plenty of patience. A senior dog can especially benefit from attention to the mouth in the golden years, because gums and teeth are often more sensitive with age, and here the soft brush and the gentle approach are even more important. If you are in doubt about what you see in the dog's mouth, the veterinarian is always the right one to ask, while we stand ready with everything to do with food and daily nutrition for your dog throughout its whole life.