Everyone knows that a dogs breath can be pretty stinky. But who could blame them, after all, your breath would smell too if you never brushed your teeth!

Bad dog breath is one reason why having a good dog dental program for your pet is important, but a recent study shows that there may be even more important reasons - ones that could be critical to the life of your pet.

A study done by Dr. Larry Glickman at Purdue University included the records of almost 120,000 dogs. Half of the dogs had periodontal disease and half did not. The study revealed a link between gum disease and heart disease for dogs.

This was particularly true when it came to heart valve inflammation (endocarditis). In fact, only 0.01 percent of dogs without gum disease had endocarditis but.15 percent of the dogs with stage 3 periodontal disease had endocarditis.

Needless to say, a good dog dental program is critical for the health and well being of your pet.

But, what constitutes good canine dental care?

Naturally, dog teeth cleaning is at the core of a good dental care program. It should start at home and you can buy toothpaste specially formulated for dogs as well as toothbrushes for dog teeth cleaning. Try to brush your dogs teeth every day. This will keep tarter from building up and stave off gum disease and bad dog breath.

If your dog already has a lot of tarter build up, then you will want to get him to the vet for a dental scaling. This is much like a cleaning you get at the dentist and consists of scraping the tarter from your dogs teeth.

You should also include some special treats and toys in your dog dental program. Some of the chew toys like Nylabones are made specifically to help scrape off tarter while your dog is chewing on them. Other treats can help with dog breath, especially the Greenies that are made for good canine dental health.

Making sure that you provide good dental care for your dog is important to his overall health. If tarter and bacteria is allowed to build up on his teeth, that can cause gum disease and also the bacteria can get into his blood stream and cause health problems in other organs, including his heart.

Providing good dog dental care for your pet will help him to live a longer and happier life. It only takes a few minutes a day to brush Fido's pearly whites and the reward could be fresh smelling dog breath and more healthy years added to your pets life.