Dental disease is one of the most common health problems experienced by dogs and cats in the UK today. Although awareness of pet’s dental health has increased massively over the past few years with the growing surge in pet ownership since lockdown, it is still sadly overlooked by some pet owners.
Despite all this raised awareness around pet dental health actual cases of pets suffering dental health disease is in fact on the rise. 80% of dogs have some form of dental health disease by the age of 3, this is a major problem for our pets which is often exacerbated by ingredients commercial diets and also a lack of regular preventative dental care.
Dental disease can lead to serious health complications such as heart kidney and liver failure in extreme cases. I believe as groomers we absolutely have a duty of care to our clients and to educate our owners about the importance of pet dental health.
Prevention is always better than cure and if dental disease can be avoided then this is a positive thing.
Groomers can advise clients about more natural diets and natural chews that will help the reduction of plaque and tartar build up on the teeth. Stress the importance of setting up a regular dental care/brushing routine at home from puppyhood and beyond.
You may want to stock some dental care products in your salon, supplements such as plaque off powder, Orozyme gel etc as well as natural chews buffalo horns etc.
You may also wish to offer ultrasonic teeth cleaning as an additional service to your grooming business, it’s easy to implement, your clients will love it and a great extra income generator.
It’s always important to let your client know if the dog should visit a Vet about its dental health. As groomers it is not our jobs to diagnose any specific health issues, but when health checking our clients we have a duty of care for the dogs health and wellbeing to inform owners of any health issues we may find and let them know when a visit to the vets would be advisable. Many owners never actually check in their pets’ mouths or recognise when there is an issue.
The sooner you can implement a dental care routine the better and this could be introduced with a salon puppy package. Early implementation of dental care either in the home, the salon or both will ensure the plaque and tartar never becomes established in the first place.
Preventative treatment will help avoid costly invasive veterinary dental procedures later down the line.
It’s important to feel confident about talking about oral health with clients especially if thinking of offering a teeth cleaning service.
I would advise doing a course with a training provider either in person or online. Completing a training course will give you the confidence to be able to recognise various dental health issues and when veterinary advice should be sought.
It will also help you with knowing how to have conversations with your clients about Dental health and educating them as well as knowing how to advertise, market and price your service as well helping you to achieve great results.
If you would like more information about training click here to go to our training page.
