are my dogs teeth/gums healthy?

[brandes]

my dog is a goldendoodle, 3 years old male

k so the past week his breath has been smelling AWFUL even though i brush his teeth that whole week, i usually brusah his teeth 2-3 times a week but this week was more often cause it was horrible,

what color are his gums uppose to be, i cant remember how they use to be but right now they are dark pink and red near the teath on some, i think the red is because ive started brushing them more but i cant really tell if his gums are healthy, should i book a vet appointment?

if they are fine what can i do to combat his breath other then brushing his teeth?

[kathryn]

What food do you use? Also, are you using any treats or bones to help with dental health? If you are using a low quality food that is filled with sugar, dyes and garbage, that can of course, mess things up. Also some companies market "Dental Chews" that are made of horrible things and probably cause more problems then they resolve. Some raw bones or quality chews would probably help.

These products are really nice-
http://www.tropiclean.net/categories/fresh-breath.php

Gums in most cats and dogs should be a nice bubble gum pink. The problem being with the coloration of some animals you can't always tell because their gums have black patterns (ex, a tortie cat I fostered before).

A small amount of dark pink around the tooth line can be somewhat expected with some cats and dogs. Several of my cats have funky teeth from just being in-bred feral cats but none of them have any cavities or serious gingivitis except for my cat that is FIV+.

[brandes]

i feed him blue buffalo, its suppose to be good the first 3 ingrdients are meat

[kathryn]

Originally Posted by brandes

i feed him blue buffalo, its suppose to be good the first 3 ingrdients are meat

Blue buffalo is not too bad. I don't use it anymore but it's certainly much better than most foods on the market right now.

Do you use just dry? Or do you ever use canned? I would say you should try and use both, or if you ever want to venture into raw, some nice meaty bones would be a much more natural version of a toothbrush for your dog.

http://www.auntjeni.com/html/raw_meaty_bones.html
http://www.bravorawdiet.com/product/bones/index.html

I would try the Tropiclean as well. Some other dental products off the top of my head-
http://www.greenies.com/en_US/default.aspx
http://www.plaqueoff.com/
http://www.petzlife.com/
http://www.fourpaws.com/products/dog...loral-hygiene/

[hazelrunpack]

If the gums are lined with red, it's probably time to book a dental exam with the vet, brandes. Dogs get gingivitis just like people do, and it can lead to infection and tooth loss if it goes too long untreated...