My dog has bad breath and his back teeth look rotten. Vet or brushing?

Rex urgently needs to be seen by your veterinarian for an exam. You likely will need to schedule a dental cleaning under anesthesia. He likely has a very painful tooth root abscess. The vet will remove all tartar, and also clean under the gingiva wich will also remove bacteria which are causing infection and bad breath. He will also remove all rotten and infected teeth. This should greatly increase your dog's quality of life and will help prevent heart and kidney disease. He will also be able to eat properly without a toothache! Please make an appointment on Monday!

I am sorry it is really hard to tell by the pictures what is going on with the teeth. Small and medium size dogs are affected with dental disease more often than large breed dogs. I would recommend taking Genesis to a vet for a good oral exam. It is important that Genesis needs a dental cleaning (like people) to remove all the dental tartar and bacteria from the teeth. The odor is caused by the tartar and bacteria in the mouth and will resolve with a cleaning. Once the teeth are cleaned I would recommend brushing the teeth daily with dog tooth paste to prevent slower build up of tartar in the future. Hope that helps

It's odd that it improved when the [Giardia](https://www.petcoach.co/dog/condition/giardia/) was treated. My first suspicion for the ongoing odor is that she may be licking at her anal glands or eating her own (or someone else's) poop. Ideally, have her examined by a veterinarian just to make sure there are no wounds, irritation, etc in her mouth or throat that maybe contributing. You r vet can also check her anal glands to see if they seem full or irritated which could lead t her having a tendency to lick at them a lot. If her anal glands are fine, and her mouth is fine, use a daily product for dental health. [CET products](https://us.virbac.com/cet-veggiedent-fr3sh-dental-chew-for-dogs) contain chlorhexadine which kills bad breath causing bacteria. [Water additives](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-oratene-water-additive) are great too. I hope thats helpful for you. Thanks for asking PetCoach! Good luck!

I certainly understand how difficult it can be to manage bad breath. I am attaching a handout below on halitosis which will give you more information. http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=129 Unfortunately, halitosis is most commonly due to dental disease that can only be treated by performing a dental cleaning under anesthesia to remove all the tartar and bacteria under the gum line. After a dental cleaning, continuing to brush is very important. I recently started using PetSmile since a veterinary dentist recommended it to me and have been very pleased at the improvement in halitosis in my dogs. https://petsmileusa.com/ Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach

AT that age, dental disease is common. The odor and discolorations indicate an infection due to gingivitis and tartar build up. The only way to have that removed is the have her teeth cleaned at your vet. They can clean around the gums and polish teeth similar to how ours are done. They will remove any damaged or infected teeth. You will likely need antibiotics to go along with this to further treat the infection and continue with brushing to help prevent this again

Poor Buster! It looks like he may have periodontal disease or potentially an injury that has led to recession of his gums and allowed hair to accumulate in the pocket. I would guess those two middle teeth need to be extracted. I am a little concerned about the hair above his canine tooth as well - it looks like he might have a draining tract associated with that tooth. I would recommend having your vet examine Buster soon to see if a dental cleaning with tooth extraction is recommended. Fortunately dogs do not use these teeth much for chewing.

Yes dogs do need teeth cleaning! You can brush Layla's teeth with a specific dog toothbrush and paste you get from a pet store. Do NOT use human toothpaste. Denta sticks are fine. She also needs an exam from a vet. The bad breath could be due to severe gingivitis, tooth root abscess, or a broken tooth. That requires a dental cleaning, scaling, and polishing, it cannot be treated at home. Like humans, dogs need a dental cleaning yearly. Contact her vet on Monday to make her an appointment. I hope this helps!