Current Events > Why don't animals need to brush their teeth like we do?

(+) Yeah! (+)

They eat a bunch of raw shit

Sugar

They don't slather their teeth with processed sugars. They also tend to have much shorter life spans so they usually die before major cavities become a problem.

Even humans in remote villages don't need to brush their teeth and yet their teeth are clean and straight.

As others mentioned, it's the excessive processed sugar and carbs in our modern diet.

Theyre also much better about hiding any sort of pain. Ive worked on dog mouths where weve taken as many as 24 teeth.

They dont have thumbs or toothbrushes

I suppose if you're only eating raw plant fiber and meat you don't have to brush as much.

But then again I've seen a lot fo documentaries about remote tribes and by the time they're 40 everyone has messed up teeth and missing quite a few of them.

Why did you need to ask this?

They do, actually. I brush my dog's teeth a couple of times a week. Otherwise they need surgery to remove the plaque.

My cat has zero teeth. When I got him he already had them all removed due to cavities or something. But I don't know why other cats I had a kid never had cavities. But I have no idea what kind of situation my cat was in originally.

Aloc posted...

Sugar

This. Tooth decay wasnt really a widespread thing until societies came into contact with sugar and the like.

Zikten posted...

My cat has zero teeth. When I got him he already had them all removed due to cavities or something. But I don't know why other cats I had a kid never had cavities. But I have no idea what kind of situation my cat was in originally.

Genetics. Likely the cat you have currently had (what sounds like to me) stomatitis going on, basically where the teeth and mouth adversely react with each other that results in overall inflammation of the mouth, which is very painful. Often times a lot of people will seek a treatment to help the teeth but ultimately removing them all is what treats it.