Department of Animal Sciences, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
PetSmart Proprietary Brand Product Development, Phoenix, AZ 85080, USA.
J Anim Sci. 2024 Jan 3;102. doi: 10.1093/jas/skae071.
Halitosis in dogs is an initial indication of periodontitis, highlighting its significance as a vital marker for underlying problems. Moreover, the oral microbial population has a significant influence on periodontal disease. Measuring the oral microbiota may be used in addition to breath odor, dental plaque, and gingivitis scoring to assess the impact of dental chews on oral health. In this study, we aimed to determine the differences in breath odor, oral health outcomes, and oral microbiota of adult dogs consuming a novel dental chew compared with control dogs consuming only a diet. Twelve healthy adult female beagle dogs were used in a crossover design study. Treatments (n = 12/group) included: diet only (control) or the diet + a novel dental chew. Each day, one chew was provided 4 h after mealtime. On days 1, 7, 14, 21, and 27, breath samples were analyzed for total volatile sulfur compound concentrations using a halimeter. On day 0 of each period, teeth were cleaned by a veterinary dentist blinded to treatments. Teeth were scored for plaque, calculus, and gingivitis by the same veterinary dentist on day 28 of each period. After scoring, subgingival and supragingival plaque samples were collected for microbiota analysis using Illumina MiSeq. All data were analyzed using SAS (version 9.4) using the Mixed Models procedure, with P < 0.05 being significant. Overall, the dental chews were well accepted. Dogs consuming the dental chews had lower calculus coverage, thickness, and scores, lower gingivitis scores, and less pocket bleeding than control dogs. Breath volatile sulfur compounds were lower in dogs consuming the dental chews. Bacterial alpha-diversity analysis demonstrated that control dogs had higher bacterial richness than dogs fed dental chews. Bacterial beta-diversity analysis demonstrated that samples clustered based on treatment. In subgingival and supragingival plaque, control dogs had higher relative abundances of potentially pathogenic bacteria (Pelistega, Desulfovibrio, Desulfomicrobium, Fretibacterium, Helcococcus, and Treponema) and lower relative abundances of genera associated with oral health (Neisseria, Actinomyces, and Corynebacterium). Our results suggest that the dental chew tested in this study may aid in reducing periodontal disease risk in dogs by beneficially shifting the microbiota population and inhabiting plaque buildup.
口臭是犬牙周炎的一个初步指征，这突出了其作为潜在问题重要标志物的意义。此外，口腔微生物群对牙周病有重大影响。除了口臭、牙菌斑和牙龈炎评分外，还可以测量口腔微生物群，以评估牙咀嚼对口腔健康的影响。在这项研究中，我们旨在确定与仅食用饮食的对照犬相比，食用新型牙咀嚼物的成年犬的口臭、口腔健康结果和口腔微生物群的差异。
我们使用交叉设计研究了 12 只健康的成年雌性比格犬。处理（n = 12/组）包括：仅饮食（对照）或饮食+新型牙咀嚼物。每天，在用餐 4 小时后提供一个咀嚼物。在第 1、7、14、21 和 27 天，使用挥发性硫化合物总和的 halimeter 分析呼吸样本。在每个时期的第 0 天，由兽医牙医进行盲法治疗，对牙齿进行清洁。在每个时期的第 28 天，同一位兽医牙医对牙齿进行牙菌斑、牙垢和牙龈炎评分。评分后，使用 Illumina MiSeq 收集龈下和龈上菌斑样本进行微生物分析。所有数据均使用 SAS（版本 9.4）中的混合模型程序进行分析，P 值<0.05 为差异有统计学意义。
总体而言，牙咀嚼物被很好地接受。与对照组相比，食用牙咀嚼物的犬的牙垢覆盖率、厚度和评分较低，牙龈炎评分较低，牙龈出血较少。呼吸挥发性硫化合物在食用牙咀嚼物的犬中较低。细菌 alpha 多样性分析表明，对照组的细菌丰富度高于食用牙咀嚼物的犬。细菌 beta 多样性分析表明，样本根据治疗进行聚类。在龈下和龈上菌斑中，对照组的潜在致病细菌（Pelistega、Desulfovibrio、Desulfomicrobium、Fretibacterium、Helcococcus 和 Treponema）相对丰度较高，与口腔健康相关的属（Neisseria、Actinomyces 和 Corynebacterium）相对丰度较低。
我们的研究结果表明，本研究中测试的牙咀嚼物通过有益地改变微生物群和抑制牙菌斑堆积，可能有助于降低犬牙周病的风险。
