28/04/2026
Another great article from Dr Conor Brady. Mouth health in dogs is always better on a raw diet, but the includion of bones has a huge benefit. Have a read....
THE AVERAGE COST OF A ROUTINE DENTAL VISIT TODAY IN THE UK IS £475 (SCALE AND POLISH ONLY, NO EXTRATIONS). HERE'S WHAT TO DO...
According to the recent Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) 2026 investigation into veterinary services, dentistry accounts for ~15%–20% of clinical revenue in typical UK small animal practices.
15-20%.
The Vet Times state that dentistry is a “growing revenue stream”, driven by the very high dental disease prevalence (80–90% of dogs over 3 affected).
And it's very high margin, relative to consults and selling dry pet food.
In its piece, entitled "The economics of small animal veterinary dentistry", the Vet Times explains that the increasing profits from this corner of veterinary are driven by increasing uptake of advanced procedures (e.g. dental radiography, extractions under GA), the bundling of procedures (scale + polish + extractions) and anaesthesia + imaging fees, all layered into one episode.
This is clearly vital revenue for conventional vets and I do not deny them a business. We need vets and, contrary to popular belief, most are struggling just as much as the rest of us these days, though I would venture that is more the vets at the coal face, not paid enough for the hours put in, versus the actual conglomerates that own them (business is booming, for them).
But that is their problem, not ours.
Our problem is that, on average, a routine dental visit today costs £474.84 (scale + polish, no extractions, average taken by ManyPets in Feb 2026, using quoted figures from 51 vet clinics across UK).
(University hospital baseline was £515 for just a scale & polish...by a young, not-yet-qualified vet?!).
That's OUR problem.
The amount of poor mouths conventional vets see, coupled with the dollars available, means conventional vets (pro dry, anti-raw bones) are inevitably pushing hard messages that drive this end of the business and a lot of them are misleading.
We all know raw bones clean teeth. That's a fact. Studies show feeding raw bones twice a week removes 95% of the calculus from their teeth (thats the hard stuff even a toothbrush won't remove) in just TWO WEEKS.
They don't argue that. What they do highlight (always without supportive data) is that raw bones at the same time DAMAGE their teeth.
Word?!
While it COULD happen (bones are hard, makes sense), the data doesn't support that statement. Authors have fed beef bones (the hardest of the lot) to over 200 dogs for more than SIX YEARS and “no harmful effects were observed”.
Every analysis of raw bone consumption in dogs that I can see, says the same thing.
Canine teeth wear for all sorts of reasons, tennis balls being a top culprit. They explore everything with their mouth. S**t happens. Chipped or worn teeth, usually in older animals, are a part of life. It does not mean disease. Given the right nutrients early in life (fresh calcium, glucosamine, chondroitin....now where does that come from....?!), their teeth will be robust and will be more resistant to wear.
Then we hear comments like "even raw-fed dogs with apparently / visibly clean teeth need annual sedated dentals as there could be decay UNDER the gums, which only x-rays can reveal."
Hmmm.
While this line is POSSIBLY true, you MIGHT have some issues under the gum line we can't see, it is usually indicated by a red line at the gum line. We can observe it when they avoid one side of their face when chewing bones. It stands to reason that if your dog is young, well-fed (not kibble) and getting raw meaty bones regularly, then I'm pretty sure we can put off the need for such regular treatments far, far longer than their kibble-fed counterparts.
"But wild cats / wolves can crack teeth...."
I thought what animals did in the wild was COMPLETELY irrelevant to dogs and cats today?!
In this instance, comparing our dogs given a duck neck to an animal that catches several, alive-and-kicking meals a day, not to mention sometimes fighting for its life, with its face, seems a strange time to look to the wild for clues.
Moreover, I found a cool study here that compared captive carnivores (lions and tigers) to their wild counterparts. Entitled, "Oral health correlates of captivity", the authors note that soft diets fed to captive animals "completely lack the mechanical properties (i.e., toughness and hardness) of the foods these animals would consume in the wild."
They found that the occurrence and severity of calculus buildup and periodontal disease was significantly higher in captive felids compared to their wild counterparts. Further, higher calculus accumulation occurred on the posterior teeth when compared to the anterior teeth, while an opposite trend for periodontal disease was observed.
"The results suggest that food mechanical properties are significant factors contributing to oral health in felids."
No s**t.
And those zoo animals would have received annual dentistry from top vets. Still couldn't get near the dental health of their wild counterparts.
Every scrap of data is clearly on the outside of FEED THEM APPROPRIATELY to avoid issues. That means a fresh diet, with lots of chew (hassle factor), and raw meaty bones once or twice a week to keep the dentist away.
If you're someone that can't feed raw bones, for whatever reason, know there are simple, natural, tartar removing products that studies show safely remove the tartar from your dog and cats' mouths. You sprinkle it on the food daily and in 5-8wks those teeth will be clean. Simple and nutritious.
We are currently running a sale with 33% off, meaning you can now do a home dental clean for just €17.75. Compared to what you ARE going to drop in the vets, it's a total no-brainer.
