What's your dog's breath like?
If it's revolting all the time, terrible soon after having their teeth cleaned, or even a bit whiffy sometimes...
Add to this picture red or bleeding gums and yellow or dirty teeth...and that stinky breath aka halitosis, could signal something more serious - not just poor oral hygiene but also gingival and periodontal disease or mucosal disease.
Halitosis is a very unpleasant and potentially serious problem!
Our research-based, vet-formulated daily health jellies, support your dog’s health, from pup to senior, right from your own kitchen. Here's a summary of the research The Smooch is based on.
This study, involved 32 dogs of different ages and breeds, with chronic halitosis. Halitosis is a common problem in dogs, and significantly affects the dog-dog parent relationship. Bad breath comes from microbial metabolism of both exogenous and endogenous protein substrates within the oral cavity which results in volatile sulphur compound production.
Good oral hygiene along with specific diets can reduce the microbial load to the physiological level, reducing halitosis and avoiding gingivitis and periodontal diseases, that have unpleasant effects on breath.
What they found
The results showed that after 10 days of dietary supplement intake, an overall improvement was observed in 90% of dogs presenting a moderate-to-severe malodor and, at the end of the evaluation, 65% who achieved an improvement, acquired a stabile physiological condition regarding VSCs concentration. A significant modification of halitosis parameters was observed after 30 days from the beginning of treatment, while a long-lasting effect was still observed even 20 days after the suspension of the treatment.
Did you know?
The association between bad breath and periodontal disease in dogs poses an important issue because this may also be the first sign of periodontal disease noticed by the owner. Periodontal disease, if left unchecked, will progress and won’t resolve on its own. Irreversible periodontal disease usually leads to bone loss, and tissue destruction. It can also have different origins such as gastrointestinal disorders, renal failure, and respiratory infections.
Di Cerbo, Alessandro & Pezzuto, Federica & Guidetti, Gianandrea & Palmieri, Beniamino. (2015). Therapeutic Effectiveness of a Dietary Supplement for Management of Halitosis in Dogs. Journal of Visualized Experiments. 2015. e52717. 10.3791/52717.
This study followed on from the one above, and involved 104 dogs of different breeds and ages, suffering from chronic halitosis and manifesting at least one symptom among drooling, gingivitis, ulcers, stomatitis, laryngitis, tartar, dental caries, abscess, and lingual lesions.
Given that daily tooth brushing, which is considered the most reliable approach to remove plaque and in turn reduce the onset of gingivitis, periodontal disease, and oral malodor, is accomplished only by approximately 2% of pet owners, the researchers wanted to assess the efficacy of a commercially available nutraceutical diet .
What they found
Fed the diet (the same as in the first research study) for 30 days, halitosis significantly decreased as did drooling, gingivitis, ulcers, stomatitis, laryngitis, dental caries, abscesses, and lingual lesions. These results are in agreement to what was previously observed in dogs affected by chronic halitosis, achieving an overall and long-lasting improvement due to a significant reduction of methyl mercaptan, hydrogen sulfide, and dimethyl sulfide
Something to think about…
Along with gingivitis, ulcers, stomatitis, laryngitis, abscess, and lingual lesions, halitosis shares an overall inflammatory condition that can also be a consequence of a daily intake of contaminated food. In fact, the researchers recently identified the presence of an antibiotic (oxytetracycline), widely used in intensive farming that tends to bind bone of treated animals remaining fixed for long periods, causing inflammatory and cytotoxic phenomena… We hypothesise a role for oxytetracycline as a possible cause of the inflammatory condition that characterises halitosis, and that a diet deprived of such antibiotic may represent a valuable alternative to counteract such an unpleasant condition.
Canello, Sergio & Guidetti, Gianandrea & Di Cerbo, Alessandro & Cocco, Raffaella. (2018). Unraveling a Commercial Formula to Relieve Halitosis in Dogs. Journal of Applied Research in Veterinary Medicine
Holistic vet, Dr Kathy Cornack, is the vet behind our bestie health jelly formulations, and assessment quiz.
Dr Cornack's work on our bestie health jelly formulations draws on her 35 years in complementary medicine for dogs, cats and other small animals, and a range of peer-reviewed scientific research papers into the effect of functional and nutraceutical supplements for dogs.
Dr Cornack BVSc (hons), MANZCVS (Veterinary Behaviour), M.Agr. Sc (Animal Nutrition), Cert. Vet. acupuncture (IVAS) is still practising as a registered vet working primarily in clinical small animal practice. These days her work is exclusively with clients choosing natural (integrative) medicine as part of their treatment protocols, as well as in referral behavioural practice. Dr Cornack is a founding member and current President of the Integrated Vets Australia group. (IVA is a special interest group of the Australian Veterinary Association, for vets with a special interest in complementary/ holistic/ natural/ integrative veterinary medicine.)
The cranberry fruit is a unique and rich source of bioactive polyphenol compounds. Cranberry constituents can exert beneficial effects on gingival and periodontal health by inhibiting inflammatory response, suppressing bacterial biofilm formation, and reducing the activity of periopathogenic proteolytic enzymes. Specific flavonoids have also been shown to disrupt key virulence factors responsible for dental caries pathogenesis.
Sage has a range of therapeutic activities including antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal, and antioxidant effects. Volatile monoterpenoid is a major constituent, reported to be an effective antibacterial. Sage has been shown to have an antibacterial action against streptococcus mutans in dental plaque, in people. Streptococcus mutans, along with porphyromonas gingivalis and candida albicans, is an oral pathogen responsible for bad breath and tooth decay.
Lysozyme is an antibacterial enzyme, present in all body fluids, including saliva. In the oral cavity, lysozyme plays an important role in controlling microbial overgrowth, reducing the number of bacteria in the dental biofilm, decreasing colonisation, and modifying bacterial metabolism. In particular, it’s been shown to inhibit glucose fermentation by oral streptococci and help prevent dental plaque.
Bioflavonoids are hydroylated phenolic structures synthesised by plants and have previously been shown to have activity against bacteria, fungi and viruses. In particular, bioflavonoids have been recognised as both anti-inflammatory and bacteriostatic agents limiting the growth of certain bacteria associated with periodontal diseases. They’ve been shown to reduce gingival inflammatory conditions in people.
The use of thyme, because of its various antiseptic and antioxidant properties, is widely reported in gingivitis, stomatitis, and bad breath. You could even argue it’s like Listerine for dogs. A component of thyme, known as thymol, appears to inhibit growth of oral pathogens in the mouth and in combination with other essential oils, may reduce tooth decay. Thymol is one of the essential oils with antibacterial effects found in the human mouthwash, Listerine.
Blackcurrent fruit contains polyphenolic substances with antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, and antibacterial properties. Various studies have highlighted the antibacterial activity exerted by ribes nigrum (blackcurrant) juice on bacterial strains - in particular streptoccocus mutans, porphyromonas gingivalis and candida albicans - associated with gingival inflammation, oral malodour, and dental caries formation.
We use Australian beef-gelatin as the 'jelly' agent in our health jellies.
Gelatin isn’t just a ‘carrier’; it’s also good for dogs, especially ageing ones. For example, it inhibits inflammation and breakdown of the cartilage matrix. Collagen in the cartilage matrix and gelatin have a similar amino acid composition and there are indications that the amino acids in gelatin stimulate the synthesis of collagen cartilage.
This is one of the factors behind research that demonstrates the improvement in canine osteoarthritis due to gelatin supplementation. A trial of 15 dogs, fed gelatin in addition to their normal diet, found an improvement in activity (vitality), stiffness and lameness.[1]
Plant-based jelly carriers don‘t currently provide the same benefits. Gelatin is also a human-grade ingredient that is generally regarded as safe (GRAS) for all species.
[1] P, Jacobs & Grim, H. & Geene, H. & Beynen, Anton & Vlerk, T.. (2010). Oral Administration of Gelatin Hydrolysate Reduces Clinical Signs of Canine Osteoarthritis in a Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial. American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences. 5. 10.3844/ajavsp.2010.102.106.
Cranberry juice powder, gelatin powder, citrus bioflavonoids powder, green tea extract, thyme, sage, egg albumen, blackcurrant powder.
Did not tell me on the packaging how much water to add. I had to look it up on the web site. Buddy won’t eat it and leaves it in his bowl but I will keep trying.
Thanks for that feedback - sorry the table wasn't clearer: in the left column it shows how much of the mix to make up and in the right hand side it has how much water...Have you tried mashing it up in the food? Perhaps give that a go. Sorry it's not an instant hit!
My Lucy Rose has suffered from a smelly breath for some time now in an effort to overcome the problem we discovered there was a remedy for this condition being trialed through Bestie Kitchen. We obtained a sample and after a week and a half we found Lucy's breath had improved out of sight and then we ran out of the jelly and had to reorder and within 4 or so days her breath smelt like roses again. We would endorse this product as it also helps with her anxiety problem as well.
We are so thrilled to have helped Lucy Rose. Thanks for being part of the trial family!
