With so many dog toothbrush options, which is the best to fight dog tartar?
Round dog toothbrush, soft-bristled human toothbrush, dual-sided angle dog toothbrush, or silicone finger: Which is the best toothbrush for dogs?
I’ve always said I’ve owned three dogs: Shep, Faith and Junee. But there are moments when I really should just say I’ve owned one dog: Junee. Why? When you’re a kid and have a dog, you’re around for the fun stuff. You’re basically a playdate. Sure, I got into a battle with a day camp counselor because I wanted to rescue my dog from a tornado. I prioritized feeding Shep no matter what my evening plans were. And my childhood best friend knew I was heartbroken when that 13-year-old Black Labrador Retriever/German Shepherd crossbreed passed away; she gifted me with a hand-painted drawing that’s still framed on my wall more than two decades later.
And yes, I accidentally dog-napped Faith and scared the hell out of my father. During another adventure, I had to leap onto Faith’s back when she darted into someone’s garage. Years later, I was speechless when my mother was in tears on the phone after finding out my father had to put the 9-year-old, purebred German Shepherd to rest. Months later, I scooped up a bunch of fur from a couch downstairs, shaped it into a heart and put it inside a framed photo of Faith — near the drawing of Shep.
Recommended Read: “Non-crazy ways to remember your deceased dog ~ What should stay and what should go when your dog dies”
But there are things that I had to do (or learn to do) on a day-to-day basis with my Hound mix that I just didn’t have to do with the first two dogs. I didn’t pay vet bills. I wasn’t regularly clipping dog nails, cleaning dog ears, brushing dog teeth during the teething phase, giving dog baths, moisturizing pet paws, or even brushing and combing the dog’s fur. With Shep and Faith, I just took occasional walks with them and played in the backyard (or front porch).
With Junee, I’m in charge of everything. I’m planning a budget around vaccines and wellness exams and heartworm and topical flea ointments. A few weeks ago, I puffed out my chest when the third veterinarian (along with the first two) complimented Junee’s teeth, especially after I found dog silicone fingers to be a nuisance. From teeth to tail, Junee is 100% my responsibility.
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Green living and dog loving
I already had an electric toothbrush, so I didn’t know what to do with my collection of soft-bristle toothbrushes that I would constantly get after every dental cleaning. I tried one on Junee, and it worked. There was a bit of a learning curve to make sure that the plastic part of the toothbrush didn’t bump into her gums. But she and I had a grooming routine within the latter part of her first puppy year. Even if I tried the silicone brush again, I always ended up going back to human toothbrushes.
During years three and (now) four, I became more curious about other types of dog toothbrushes after finding out my only options weren’t the silicone dog toothbrushes and human toothbrushes.
First, I saw a miniature-angled dog toothbrush in an Arm & Hammer dog toothpaste package.
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Then, I started eyeing round toothbrushes — an option I wish I had when Junee was a puppy and turned out to come in handy while dogsitting my mother’s dog, Jackie, who has the kind of small mouth that makes it especially awkward to brush her little teeth. (I don’t think my mother and I talked about dog plaque or dog tartar buildup one time in 22 years with Shep and Faith before Jackie and Junee were born.)
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Best toothbrush for dogs
With multiple options to avoid dog tartar buildup and dog plaque, there are pros and cons for all four options. But here’s my favorite of the four.
Silicone dog toothbrush: If you have E.T. fingers like mine, those silicone dog toothbrushes are a nuisance. Instead of finding the best size for the dog’s mouth, I found it to be annoying because I was having a tougher time finding a silicone dog toothbrush that wouldn’t swirl around on my skinny fingers. Those silicone brushes also have a very small area where the brush is located, which means it must snugly stay in place to even brush your dog’s teeth. I’m not a fan.
Round toothbrush: Because Junee wasn’t used to feeling bristles against her inner cheek, my guess is she was wondering why there was a different feel to this dog toothbrush. Additionally, I realized it was a little more interesting putting toothpaste all around the toothbrush instead of straight up and down. The toothpaste doesn’t fall off, but it can be a little messy if you don’t open your dog’s cheek immediately. Unlike human toothpaste, which has sodium lauryl sulfate that foams and makes bubbles, dog toothpaste has little froth. This means it’ll stick in place; swirl and brush the round toothbrush to get the dog toothpaste onto the dog’s teeth.
Angled toothbrush (one-sided or two-sided): The perk of a two-sided brush is it helps for pet owners who have dogs of varying sizes, but there are some bacteria concerns. The two-sided dog toothbrush comes in handy for areas of the dog’s mouth that are harder to reach (i.e., the rear area). And while these angled toothbrushes are made for a dog’s mouth, storing the two-headed brush can become a nuisance unless you store it sideways. If not, one side is going to be inside of a cup or vase holder and take longer to air dry. For this reason, I prefer one-sided dog toothbrushes.
Human toothbrush: Regardless of my green living ideas, I honestly didn’t expect this to last long. I had a spare toothbrush while I was waiting on a dog toothbrush to come in the mail. I used one with the intention of throwing it away (or using it to clean my toilet) when it arrived. But days turned into weeks that turned into every three months — the maximum time to switch toothbrushes (including electric heads). Junee’s mouth is big enough to the point where I can easily maneuver a human toothbrush in her mouth, and I just pull her cheek out to get to the back teeth. It has become the norm.
Which one is the best? Any of the latter three are fine. I think if I hadn’t used human toothbrushes for so long, I would prefer the angle toothbrush more than the round toothbrush. But I’m going to continue using the round toothbrush for the next three months to see if my dog warms up to it. So far, I’ve found it more useful for small dogs than bigger dogs with mouths wide enough to just move their cheeks around and brush the same way I brush my own teeth.
Why you should let your (dog) toothbrush air dry without a toothbrush cover
Because I have bathroom vents, I rarely use air freshener in my bathroom. I do have an incense holder and incense sticks, which I use on occasion. However, it’s not a good idea to spray air freshener in areas where your toothbrush is, including if you keep your dog’s toothbrush in the bathroom. You may want to store your toothbrush elsewhere until the particles disperse within a couple of minutes — for both automatic sprayers and manual aerosol sprays. If you’re still seeing droplets lingering or sprinkled about, you’re over-spraying. Or, invest in a “dust cover” so the aerosol spray doesn’t get onto your toothbrush bristles.
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Either way, your toothbrush should be air dried in an upright position. Oxygen will then kill off lingering microbes. Closed containers become a haven for bacteria. Don’t store a bunch of toothbrushes with the bristles in the downward position or put too many too close together. Even if your dog’s toothbrush is stored in a different room, the same rules apply for lighting incense or other particles that you wouldn’t want going into your mouth.
While your goal is to fight dog tartar and dog plaque, make sure the rest of the room isn’t putting your dog’s health in harm’s way either.
Shamontiel is a dog lover to her core: 643 completed walks with 101 dogs, eight dog house sittings and six dog boardings at the time of this publication.
Did you enjoy this post? You’re also welcome to check out my Substack columns “Black Girl In a Doggone World,” “BlackTechLogy,” “Homegrown Tales,” “I Do See Color,” “One Black Woman’s Vote” and “Window Shopping” too. Subscribe to this newsletter for the weekly posts every Wednesday. Thanks for reading!