The prevalence of dental disease in dogs, its welfare impact, and evidence-based prevention through home care and professional dental treatment.
Dental disease is among the most prevalent and most undertreated sources of chronic pain in companion dogs. The assumption that dogs would show obvious signs if their teeth hurt fails to account for canine stoicism and adaptation — dogs continue eating with significant dental pain, hiding it from their owners. Post-dental-treatment behavioral improvements are a consistent observation in clinical practice: owners report their dogs becoming more active, playful, and interactive after dental work, revealing in retrospect the chronic burden they were carrying. The welfare solution requires both home prevention through regular brushing and professional treatment when disease is present. The barriers to treatment — primarily anesthesia cost and owner reluctance — can be reduced through frank veterinary communication about the welfare stakes of untreated dental disease.