Comments on: Man vs. Beast: Is a Dog’s Mouth Really Cleaner Than a Human’s?

By: Pam Davis

Pam Davis — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 19:31:03 +0000

My dogs love to drink from small little rivers of water or puddles. They both got Giardia. The Vet said that if one had it the other one would so they only tested one of the two. I was never tested, can humans contract viruses and illnesses from dogs?

By: Peach

Peach — Sun, 23 May 2010 23:00:17 +0000

Re Giardia: I read recently that EVERY SINGLE freshwater source in the US is now contaminated with it. I also read that filling a label-less clear plastic bottle with water and then laying it on top of metal in direct sun(such as old foil or flattened cans) for 6 hours will sterilize it.

By: Peach

Peach — Sun, 23 May 2010 23:00:02 +0000

Re Giardia: I read recently that EVERY SINGLE freshwater source in the US is now contaminated with it. I also read that filling a label-less clear plastic bottle with water and then laying it on top of metal (such as old foil or flattened cans) for 6 hours will sterilize it.

By: Dental Vet Nurse

Dental Vet Nurse — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 22:50:14 +0000

Yes, I know, I’m a geek!!! I can’t help but correct this, though: dogs technically don’t get cavities. They may get caries, but it’s not like what we get. I’ve done a lot of canine dentistry, and I’d be horrified if a human’s mouth was dirtier than that!

By: Deej

Deej — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 02:17:45 +0000

There is also Growth Factors in spit which promote healing and clear infection.

By: Trevor

Trevor — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:36:28 +0000

Trace: I also got Giardia one summer. It took doctors a month before figuring out what I had. It was horrible. I got lost in the woods and drank river water. Giardia is transmitted via animal fecal matter. Yeah gross, but the moral is, never drink unfiltered river water… and in my case, especially near the ocean… it’s travelled a long way before it got there.

By: Amber

Amber — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 16:10:57 +0000

THANK you for stating that it’s like comparing apples and oranges, because it really is. There’s also the factor that (most hygiene-conscious) people brush their teeth every day, whereas a dog can’t exactly pick up the toothbrush after he gets out of the shower.

Cat mouths, on the other hand, are utterly disgusting. If you have a cat that goes outdoors, imagine all the things he is tracking down and killing/eating, or even finding already dead and eating. Or, if you don’t have a cat that goes outdoors, either your cat is still finding indoor vermin OR there’s the fallback factor of cats being very prone to dental disease. So essentially if you don’t have your cat’s teeth religiously looked after by a vet, you’re looking at a mouth full of rotting choppers. Hence the reason vets and vet techs are way more cautious about cat bites than they are dog bites.

In any case, cat or dog, oral and dental health is as important to their well-being as it is to ours, so ideally you should get their teeth cleaned every year just like they get their annual checkup and shots. Just something to keep in mind.

By: Libby

Libby — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 02:35:31 +0000

Dogs cleaning themselves and then licking your face is just too gross to think about!

By: cjung

cjung — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:20:34 +0000

There’s another good reason that dogs do not develop cavities. If you look at human teeth, they are tight together with lots of nooks and crannies for food to be trapped and bacteria to grow. Dog teeth, on the other hand, are widely spaced and there’s comparatively fewer spaces for food to get trapped.

By: micx

micx — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:23:20 +0000

… so what about a cat’s mouth? Granted, a cat isn’t likely to lick your face when you walk in the door (probably a good thing, considering all the varied and gross places they clean themselves), so this question is merely hypothetical.