Dog Food & Dental Care?

Growing up, 30 + years ago, we never worried about our dogs' dental health. They never had any problems and lived nice long lives.





Back then the size of kibble was sooo much larger and dogs spent more time chewing their food.





Ok here's the question...Do you think that the kibble back then aided with cleaning the teeth?





Ok 2nd question...Does anyone know why kibble is so much smaller now?

Dog Food %26amp; Dental Care?
i dont think it had anything to do with the kibble itself, which as research shows, really does not clean their teeth. many many dogs "back in the day" got lots of fresh/homemade food scraps, most likely including bones...and many dogs spent large chunks of time outdoors, so they most likely had plenty of things to gnaw on. meaty bones/gnawing toys and brushing with a toothbrush/using rinse aid are the only things that keep a dogs teeth really clean. kibble does absolutely nothing.
Reply:Well as a technician, I have went over these type of questions often. Dog food has become far more refined then in previous generations, most now even have added dental care chemicals while giving a more complete nutrient base. Kibble that was larger was usually due to the by products being used. The actual account is that dental care was not as popular in veterinary care due to lack of knowledge and risks involved with previous anesthesia (like nitrous oxide). The average life span of companion animals has increased almost as rapidly as human life spans with respect to aging differences. Larger kibble does show benefits in cleaning teeth however, and some dog food companies like Science Diet have created larger pieces like there T/D diet. I would believe the size of the kibble is made due to manufacturing limits or ease and ease of measuring for clinical nutrition.
Reply:I second what Brent said!
Reply:The kibble is so much smaller because there have been so many reports of dogs dying because they choked on the kibble. The smaller the kibble the better! Many people have switched over to raw food diets becuase of that and the price of good natural dog food. I use Nutro they have a great line of dog food with 28% protein and many good things in it. Easy cheap ways to clean dogs teeth are apple slice and carrots. This gives them something great to chew on and it wipes away a lot of grime. I brush my dogs teeth every few days. My mom never did this and they diodn't have major problems just bad breath and brown teeth.





I do think the larger kibble may have cleaned teeth better but there are so many alternatives without having to take the risk on large dog food.
Reply:Also a matter of marketing and production economy. In marketing- you can sell the same brand to any size breed. For example, toy breed cannot eat large kibble, but when kibble is small enough to fit a toy, even very large breeds can eat it too. Production economy - you do not need to manufacture three different sizes (e.g. toy/medium/large) on three different processing systems....I am sure some company might decide to start making large kibble, if they determine there is a sufficient market for it and you are willing to pay premium for a tag that says: now in an improved, large kibble size! For your dog's dental health!
Reply:Contrary to popular belief, kibble does not clean teeth. If it did then 80% of dogs wouldn't have periodontal disease by the time they are three!!





I would think it has more to do with the feeding of scraps and meaty bones than the larger kibble size.





http://www.rawmeatybones.com/articles/ne...


"Soft canned foods and grain-based kibble do not clean teeth. In fact food sludge sticks to teeth and feeds the bacteria in dental plaque. The body’s second line of defence, the immune system, mobilises against the bacterial invaders. The result: inflamed gums, bad breath, circulating bacteria and bacterial poisons that affect the rest of the body."