Dog Toothbrush Review

Are you thinking about purchasing or replacing a toothbrush for your dog? As we near the end of Dental Health Month, we review several dog toothbrushes to get you started. This review is conducted by our team dogs just like the dental chew review from last week. Check out their opinions below:

What Do Health Professionals Recommend? 

•  The Veterinary Oral Health Council recommends any "ADA-compliant soft bristle flat head toothbrush".
• The Foundation for Veterinary Dentistry recommends a toothbrush, finger brush, or oral wipes.

What Products Did Our Dogs Review?

Our team dogs tried out the following products and rated them (with some help from us of course). The more popular brushes are listed on our recommended products page. 

• Silicon Finger Brush (Molain)
• Finger Toothbrush, Silicon Bristle (Boshel)
• Finger Toothbrush, Nylon Bristle (Boshel)
• Child Sized Soft Toothbrush (generic)
• Silicon 360 degree cat toothbrush (Kitipcoo)
• 3-Sided Pet Toothbrush (Orgrimmar)
• 360 degree dog toothbrush (Arm and Hammer)

Here's what our dogs thought of these brush options:

Silicon Finger Brush (Molain)

• Tolerable to all testers:  Pancake, Juno, and Jasper all tolerated this brush.
• Handler thoughts: This brush was easy to use, but the bristles were soft and short, so it might not get all of the plaque around tooth edges.

Silicon Bristle Finger Toothbrush (Boshel)

• Tolerable to all testers: All three dogs tolerated this brush without issue.
• Handler thoughts: This brush is kind of bulky and the bristles are very stiff. It seemed difficult to fit into a small dog's mouth and had some difficulty scrubbing.

Nylon Bristle Finger Toothbrush (Boshel)

• Tolerable to all testers: All three dogs tolerated this finger brush.
• Handler thoughts: I really liked the soft bristles and the brush felt like it could maneuver around the tooth, but it was too tall to easily reach the back teeth in a smaller dog mouth.

Child Sized Soft Bristle Toothbrush

• Tolerable to all testers: All three dogs were also comfortable with the more traditional toothbrush.
• Handler thoughts: Overall, I liked this brush. It more easily reached into the back of Pancake's mouth and the bristles were soft.

Silicon 360 Degree Cat Toothbrush

• Tolerable to all testers: All three dogs tolerated the 360 degree cat toothbrush.
• Handler thoughts: The wider, round head made it difficult to get under Pancake's lip and the bristles and shape didn't feel effective at making contact with and between teeth.

3-Sided Pet Toothbrush and 360 Degree Dog Toothbrush

• Not tolerable to all testers: These toothbrushes are larger and require more handling to use, and my dogs were not interested in using them.
• Handler thoughts: Personally, I would skip these brushes. I prefer something simpler to use.

Overall Winners

• Child sized soft bristle toothbrush: This brush works for a variety of mouth sizes with soft, effective bristles.
• Finger toothbrush, nylon bristle (Boshel): This brush is fairly easy to use, but a bit bulky.
• Silicon finger brush (Molain): This brush might be a good starter brush as the bristles aren't as helpful, but it's also easy to use.

Note: If you have any concerns about dental discomfort, check in with your veterinarian to make sure that the product is appropriate for your dog. 

If you would like to see a list of these toothbrushes and other favorite items that we and our dogs have used, check out our list of recommended products or our Healthy Smiles webinar.

If you're looking for more one-on-one guidance with your fearful dog, check out our online training membership, the Reactive Dog Academy. For a more personalized plan, sign up for private training. If you'd like more help with tooth brushing specifically, we'd love to see you in our toothbrushing class.

If you are getting started with dental care, we want to hear about your successes or struggles. Join our Facebook group and post your questions or comments there, or email us at [email protected].