Hills Dental Prescription Diet Vs Oral Care

[Bookworm Cat Mum]

I would love to feed my cats chicken necks and giblets for their dental health, but the sad truth is, for whatever reason, I can't depend on them to eat them reliably and so we've gone with Hills Dental Prescription diet to help with their teeth.

We've also seen Royal Hills Oral Care and Hills Oral Care--can anyone tell me if there's an actual difference between that and the Dental Prescription Diet? As far as I can tell, they are exactly the same thing, just packaged differently.

 

[LTS3]

Can you brush your cats' teeth? That's better than any dental food or treat out there. Dental diets tend to just be large in size to encourage "chewing" which cats don't do anyways and still full of pretty junky ingredients

 

[1 bruce 1]

I would love to feed my cats chicken necks and giblets for their dental health, but the sad truth is, for whatever reason, I can't depend on them to eat them reliably and so we've gone with Hills Dental Prescription diet to help with their teeth.

We've also seen Royal Hills Oral Care and Hills Oral Care--can anyone tell me if there's an actual difference between that and the Dental Prescription Diet? As far as I can tell, they are exactly the same thing, just packaged differently.

I don't know of any differences between the two, but kibble won't clean teeth. It's too starchy to do so reliably. The dental care stuff might prevent MORE build up or at least slow it down, but IME no kibble has done a world of good for the mouth of a cat (or dog) who actually chews their food.
What is their normal diet and how often do you feed them?

 

[Bookworm Cat Mum]

Can you brush your cats' teeth? That's better than any dental food or treat out there. Dental diets tend to just be large in size to encourage "chewing" which cats don't do anyways and still full of pretty junky ingredients

Thank you! We do brush their teeth (irregularly, though we're working on that). It's just a matter of living with the undying rage and betrayal after the fact...

 

[Bookworm Cat Mum]

I don't know of any differences between the two, but kibble won't clean teeth. It's too starchy to do so reliably. The dental care stuff might prevent MORE build up or at least slow it down, but IME no kibble has done a world of good for the mouth of a cat (or dog) who actually chews their food.
What is their normal diet and how often do you feed them?

Thank you for that. Our boy managed to get stage 1 gingivitis earlier this year, even with conscious efforts to feed them giblets, so we are trying multiple tactics to avoid that for next year!

They eat weruva twice a day--and chicken gizzards, at least twice a week. They graze on 1/3 cup of dry food between them, throughout the day. We're trying to get them back on the necks too, but we're not having much luck.

 

[LTS3]

Some cats are just prone to dental issues no matter how well you try to take care of their teeth Just do the best you can. Some dental care is better than no dental care at all.

 

[Ladewyn]

I was told some prescription dental diets are formulated not so much to chew but so the tooth goes through the kibble centre, and they're made with ingredients that promote oral health. I actually have no idea how true that is, but maybe your vet knows or has more info?

I know that more and more vets are pushing pet owners to brush teeth these days. The impression I got from my vet was that dental diets are more like how us humans will eat foods with certain vitamins and minerals to promote tooth health but it doesn't actually replace a proper tooth hygiene regiment.

 

[1 bruce 1]

I was told some prescription dental diets are formulated not so much to chew but so the tooth goes through the kibble centre, and they're made with ingredients that promote oral health. I actually have no idea how true that is, but maybe your vet knows or has more info?

I know that more and more vets are pushing pet owners to brush teeth these days. The impression I got from my vet was that dental diets are more like how us humans will eat foods with certain vitamins and minerals to promote tooth health but it doesn't actually replace a proper tooth hygiene regiment.

That is a really, really good analogy from your vet.
I'm really into the whole diet and dental health thing, and 99% of our animals on raw have perfect teeth. But there's always that one clinker that doesn't, and in every case these animals have a really very poor dental structure, or "bite". When you put their teeth together, they don't fit well. They are over or under shot, there are gaps and spaces between the teeth that don't belong, or crowding. Even the worlds best dental diet (raw, dental kibble, special treats or chews) won't reach all these gaps and all these tiny areas in crowded teeth, so no matter what we feed or how often we brush or what we do to keep their teeth healthy, they'll probably get some form of plaque, tartar, or dental disease eventually.
When I was younger and fed kibble I had a dog with a perfect bite, his teeth were like a damn wolf trap and even on kibble and raw hide he never got any crap on his teeth ever. The only raw thing he ever got was the occasional femur bone from the butcher (which he later chipped a tooth on...)
Another point is that how the mother was fed/ate in gestation/pre-conception does play a role in dental health and structure (Weston A. Price has an excellent book that covers this subject.)