Brushing your cat's teeth on a regular basis can make a huge difference in their oral health and serve to keep them healthy. But if you're not bringing them in for regular dental cleanings and examinations, you're only covering half the battle. This is why you should always bring them to a veterinarian for a dental checkup.

Tartar

Just like with humans, tartar can't be removed readily at home. It doesn't come off at all when using a toothbrush or finger brush designed for cleaning a cat's teeth. Unfortunately, tartar can contribute to your cat's likelihood of developing cavities and gum disease alike. Bringing them to the vet's office to have this dangerous substance stripped from their teeth is very important to ensuring that they can keep all their teeth.

Cats Can't Floss

Brushing a cat's teeth is well and good, but it doesn't cover everything, just like with humans. Without flossing or some other method of cleaning between teeth, plaque and tartar will still develop and cause potential problems, like tooth decay. Unfortunately, flossing a cat's teeth is impossible, so at the very least, seeing a veterinary dentist as often as you would a human dentist is advised.

Other Problems

There are other problems that a cat can face with their teeth that their loving pet parent can't help with. One such condition is tooth resorption.

Tooth resorption strikes cats more than other animals for an unknown reason. It's a condition where the tooth starts to break down from the inside, like an inside-out cavity. This is particularly problematic because it's not visible to the naked eye, and can only be identified either after it has broken the surface of the tooth or via dental X-rays. Tooth resorption can impact cats of any age, and the cleanliness of their teeth doesn't seem to have much of an impact on whether or not they'll get it.

All three of these reasons are why you should be bringing your cat in for regular dental checkups and cleanings with your vet. Chances are your veterinarian will be very happy that you regularly clean your cat's teeth, and it could help dramatically to reduce the risk of them losing teeth. But without dental cleanings, it's only a matter of time before enough tartar develops to cause problems, so don't skip the professional cleanings no matter how often you brush your cat's pearly whites.