Periodontal vaccine

[Angies Man]

This was posted in the Pets Blog of the Reno Gazette Journal, I thought it sounded interesting and copied it to this post. . .

Vaccine for teeth

This month, Phizer announced a new vaccine for vets to give dogs to prevent periodontitis (dental disease). It's called Porphyromonas Denticanis-Gulae-Salivosa Bacterin.

"Many dog owners don't check their dog's teeth and gums until they notice bad breath or their veterinarian identifies periodontal disease, yet maintaining healthy teeth is critical to keeping a dog healthy," said David Haworth, a vet and Pfizer researcher, in a press release. "We are finally able to provide pets with an additional layer of prevention against canine periodontitis. This is a strong step toward helping veterinarians combat the problem."

The press release adds: "By the age of 3, an estimated 85 percent of all dogs have some form of periodontal disease, underscoring the need for additional canine periodontal disease advancements."

[MyBirdIsEvil]

Yeah, vets will have to give out this vaccine left and right to fight the effects of the crappy foods they prescribe.

[mummummum]

Do you have a link for this ? I'm , I thought periodontal disease was bacteria driven.

[Angies Man]

Originally Posted by MyBirdIsEvil

Yeah, vets will have to give out this vaccine left and right to fight the effects of the crappy foods they prescribe.

Does Phizer make dog food of any sort? Interesting that I post something that is likely to benefit our dogs by promoting dental health and it provokes a sour response about pet foods. Maybe you need to discuss "the crappy foods they prescribe" with your vet, or failing that, find another vet clinic.

For Mum x 3, here's the link to the blog in the local paper:

http://www.rgj.com/blogs/mostlydogs/...th-doggie.html

[MyBirdIsEvil]

I'm not saying the vaccine is bad, I'm saying vets will be quick to prescribe the vaccine without also relying on nutrition to prevent periodontal disease.
Dogs that are at risk genetically and have chronic plaque buildup would probably benefit from the vaccine, but plaque buildup can be solved in many dogs by a change in diet. Unfortunately many vets tend to ignore nutrition and go straight to medication without so much as mentioning food changes.

Risk of periodontal disease depends largely on genetics, but diet has a HUGE affect on build up of plaque and bacteria which is the main cause.

Maybe you need to discuss "the crappy foods they prescribe" with your vet, or failing that, find another vet clinic.

Not sure what the attack on me was about, but regardless, there is only one vet in this town, I don't feed his food to my own dogs, and I would LOVE to find a vet that is experienced in dog nutrition if one was available.

I thought periodontal disease was bacteria driven.

Buildup of plaque and bacteria usually cause the gums to seperate from the tooth and develop pockets of bacteria. At that point your dog has periodontal disease, the damage is done is not reversable.
That's why it's important to prevent plaque buildup with a proper diet and teeth cleaning if needed.

[Angies Man]

The vaccine is Porphyromonas vaccine.

The inactive bacteria are P. denticanis, P. gulae and P. salivosa bacterin

If anyone is interested, here is the web page on this from the Phizer website:

http://www.pfizerah.com/product_over...=EN&species=CN


I guess a good vet would provide this vaccine with instructions for keeping puppies teeth clean (much as a human dentist teaches parents and children the importance and proper method of keeping kid's teeth clean.)

It doesn't seem to me that allowing this vaccination in anyway suggests that dogs teeth shouldn't be regularly brushed and periodically cleaned by the vet (including scaling.)

In regards to food, there's enough information around that any moderately literate adult should be able to pick out a healthydiet and lifestyle for his/her pets. Food education is one of the things this forum does so well. We all have the responisibility for being informed and thoughtful consumers, tho.

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Mybirdisevil: The 'attack' (I guess I would characterize it as criticism) on you was that you responded to a post about a fairly benign subject with with a response that appeared unrelated and fairly grumpy. For some reason, it really bothered me--I had posted a fairly straightforward article without comment and I felt that you responded with a rather "Oh, BS!" comment. Instead of furthering the subject (which is important or I would not have posted it) with more information, you posted a rather terse, critical-of-vets response, that charitably could be characterized as cryptic.

[MyBirdIsEvil]

For some reason, it really bothered me--I had posted a fairly straightforward article without comment and I felt that you responded with a rather "Oh, BS!" comment.Instead of furthering the subject (which is important or I would not have posted it) with more information, you posted a rather terse, critical-of-vets response, that charitably could be characterized as cryptic.

My first comment was in regards to veterinarians, overvaccination, and the lack of good dietary advice by vets in relation to tooth care, so if you somehow felt that my comment was directed at YOU, I'm terribly sorry.
The comment was meant for the many people on this board (and there are MANY) who feel most vets don't do a good enough job understanding diet in relation to other diseases, and who also feel that our dogs are overvaccinated, which IS in fact related to the subject of the article.

If I elicited the attack because you thought my comment was directed towards you personally I apologize, because it wasn't.
Next time if you want clarification, simply ask, to anger or offend you was not my goal.

[Prin]

Honestly, to me, it's like a flu vaccine. It oversimplifies a complex problem in hopes of putting people's mind at ease.

If there was an antitartar vaccine that actually worked, don't you think we'd get it?

And as it says on the pfizer site:

This product is an important new adjunct to professional dental cleaning, periodontal therapy and owner-administrated dental care routines.

So IMO, with all the trouble about overvaccination and reactions to vaccines, I'd prefer to give good food and brush if need be.

[OntarioGreys]

For pet owners like myself if it could halt the peridontal disease it would be a blessing, and sure a lot less expensive and dangerous than having dentals done under anethesia every 9 months, Sunny has been on premium foods since I have had him 6 years next month, prior a mix of kibble and raw, he gets his teeth brushed but despite his teeth looks worse in 9 months than most dogs that have had uncared for teeth in 9 years, he has had sealants, gum reconstruction which did not take, rinses and of course scaling, and bones and chews while he can handle them, all inorder to try and save his teeth and to minimize the effects of infection and yet by the time he reaches 10 years old he will likely be toothless.

For dogs with severe genetically bad teeth, a diet is not going to solve the problems and this could provide some hope for dogs like Sunny if treated early enough. Callie who may have had a dental at 3 but not likely, when she passed away at 9, despite at least 7 years of no dental care such as brushing had tarter free teeth which is extremely unusual for a greyhound. So 2 extremes with the same food and daily care, though Callies care started at 7 1/2 years old and Sunny at 3 and her prior owners kept her in a garage, never took her for walks, neglected her medical care, so chances are good they fed her crap the 4 years she was with them.