It is entirely possible to treat canine gingivitis at home, naturally and inexpensively. In this post I am going to tell you exactly how I healed my dogs red swollen gums and reverse his periodontal disease in a short six weeks, without paying for an expensive vet procedure.
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Our sweet little Toby has been with us for almost eight years now. He is a terrier mix and for as long as I can remember has had the stinkiest breath!
I’m embarrassed to omit that I thought nothing of this for the longest time. I just assumed that it is normal for small dogs to have bad breath. I never connected the dots that foul-smelling breath could be a sign of periodontal disease in dogs.
As a mom to a toddler, life gets a little crazy at times, especially when my husband leaves town and we are on our own.
I do my best, but I often look down and realize that poor Toby’s food bowl has probably been empty for a day or so. It’s no wonder he won’t leave us alone at the dinner table.
One day, I was giving him some love and the smell coming from his mouth was absolutely repulsive.
I took a close look at his teeth and this is what I saw.
You can see how far advanced his periodontal disease is because his gums are swollen, inflamed, and infected.
Honest to God I didn’t realize it was that bad and still feel horrible for neglecting my dog for so long.
I came close to calling for an appointment with the vet but was worried what they would do to him.
For sure they would put him under anesthesia to clean his teeth and start antibiotics. I shudder at what that would do to his little body. All medical procedures have side effects and repercussions, even in dogs. I didn’t want to take that risk but knew I needed to take action to heal his swollen gums quickly.
I thought to myself, if this was myself or my kid, I would search for a natural remedy before I do anything that drastic and expensive.
I started treating him right away so everything I discuss going forward and the pictures are my results for treating canine gingivitis 100% naturally at home since January 2020.
Home Remedies for Canine Gingivitis
To heal my dog’s periodontal diease I used a combination of homeopathy, nutrition, and better hygiene.
1. Homeopathy for Canine Gingivitis
I alternated two remedies for Toby’s gingivitis treatment.
Kresotum or Creosote is a homeopathic remedy made from wood tar, and is indicated when there is foul breath, painful discolored gums, and tooth decay.
Mercuius Solunilis is a homeopathic remedy made from the powder of precipitated mercury and is useful for painful, swollen, spongy, receded gums that bleed easily.
My dog had all these symptoms so I chose to use both these remedies.
In the beginning, I gave my dog both these remedies twice a day for three days. Then I alternated them every other day for a week or so.
Now I am pretty much giving him the remedies when I remember, which isn’t really the scientific way to tackle this problem but it is the “busy mom, practical way.”
Whenever you use homeopathy, do not open the bottles near strong smells like freshly brewed coffee or essential oils. It can make them ineffective.
You also want to tap the pill container on your hand three times to redistribute the energy of the remedies. I know…this sounds crazy. Just do it.
2. Cod liver oil
I also give my dog 1/4 teaspoon of cod liver oil every other day to increase his omega-3 intake which is an important nutrient for inflammation reductions and tissue regeneration.
3. Raw Beef Bones
Raw beef bones are great for reducing plaque because the bones are very hard and scrape teeth. One study showed over a 70% reduction in dental plaque after 12 days of chewing raw bovine bones.
I gave my dog beef bones as often as I could remember.
4. Oral care
Another major portion of my success in reducing my dog’s gingivitis had to do with increasing the frequency I brushed his teeth.
I neglected this area for a very long time. I didn’t see the importance of brushing a dog’s teeth because wild dogs don’t have this luxury.
I realized how foolish I had been because domesticated dogs don’t eat the same diet, live the same lifestyle, and often live a lot longer than wild dogs. They are privy to some of the same chronic maladies that we humans are.
I am fortunate that my dog is very mellow and allows me to mess around in his mouth some.
I actually flossed his teeth a few times with a dental pick, which made it easier to navigate when he tried to move his head.
I also brushed his teeth twice a day that first week with bentonite clay and hydrogen peroxide mixed together.
A few times a week I added in activated charcoal to the mixture for it’s antimicrobial and detoxifying properties. Activated charcoal is abrasive and helps remove plaque.
At six weeks in I was brushing his teeth about 4 times a week.
Lastly, I actually go brave some nights and after my dog was pretty sleepy, I used a cuticle pusher to scrape the plaque off his teeth. I can’t believe he let me do that!
I found using this scraper was the easiest way to get a solid grip on the thick plaque quickly before he had much time to protest. I was surprised how easily the plaque came off.
I placed the scraper right on his gum line, and pressed in and down in a fluid motion to lift and scrape the plaque from his teeth. It literally came off in chunks like a potato chip.
Being consistent with oral care is key if you want to reverse gum disease. Do not yield even if your dog rejects it at first.
Here are my results over the weeks
These results are just extraordinary to me. Forever I have been preaching about using nutrition and homeopathy to transform health and I love that I can finally provide a visual to show how powerful this is.
We have used homeopathy to improve the symptoms all sorts of sicknesses like croup, as a pain reliever during teething, and to manage fevers!
Recently, I noticed my 8 year old dog is acting super spunky. He struts around playfully as he did as a puppy. I think he is finally relieved of his pain.
I read that dogs naturally hide their pain because it is disadvantageous to show weakness in the wild. He never gave me an indication that he wasn’t feeling well but now that he is healing, I see how low energy he actually was!
I hope that you take a chance on these remedies to heal your pups gingivitis. The temptation is to be scared and feel out of control with advanced illnesses, but you can absolutely heal without invasive surgeries. My dog is proof!
If you have any questions about this protocol, leave me a comment below.
Hi, thank you so much for this!! I have a question regarding the kreosotum. I can see that you used the 12C strength, is this the only strength suitable for dogs or would 30C be okay as well?
Thanks!
You can use the 30C strength. I personally use any strength I can get a hold of.
Thank you for all your information. I just realized my doggy had a hidden gum infection. These remedies are a blessing
Aw poor baby! Hopefully these help!
It’s just odd to me that the first 2 pics are bright and in color while the 3rd pic seems to have dim or no color yet zoomed in you can still see the bad spots on the dogs teeth???I don’t get it.
His teeth have never been perfect but I was able to achieve significant improvement through these measures without the invasiveness of anesthesia and professional dental cleaning. Going the natural route is definitely harder and takes more patience but I felt like it was the best option for us based off budget and not wanting to go through anesthesia.
I have a 16 year old Westie with severe dental ailments–inflammation, brown teeth, and, possible pain.
What are the best supplements to start hm on? Brushing would surely be painful at this juncture.
Try the homeopathy I suggested. If that doesn’t work you may need to get his teeth pulled.
Great post, Liv, but I’d be careful about giving Merc-sol (Mercurius solubilis) and Kreosotum at the same time: they don’t play well together. It’s a good idea to pick the one that most resembles your pet’s symptoms, give 3 pellets of the 30c once or twice a day, and see what’s happening after, say, three days. If there’s zero improvement, consider moving on to a different remedy. If there’s the slightest hint of improvement, however, stick with your initial remedy. If you can’t settle on one remedy, alternation between two (as you did) is another good idea.
Since your boy may have a problem with beef bones, you might try a Benebone, which is made of rock maple. My girl terrier loves hers — and they don’t splinter.
Hi! What is the ratio of bentonite clay to hydrogen peroxide you used? And how much activated charcoal? Is this something you were able to pre-make in a larger batch or it has to be mixed new every night?
Thank you for this great article!
Honestly I just eyeball it. Just use the hydrogen peroxide to make the clay/activated charcoal to make a paste.
Thanks for sharing this info! I really want to try this but was wondering how much of the Kreosotum and Mercurius solubilis did you administer each day, per dose? Does it matter depending on their weight? (My dogs are 13lbs each). And in what form do you administer them? The Mercurius seems to be in pill form, but I didn’t see any info or reviews for the other. Thanks so much for any guidance you can provide on this!
They are sugar pellets. They can be given directly in the mouth.
Hi Liv how many pellets did you give at one time? Thanks
2-3 pellets
Betonite Clay can cause liver cancer so I would mix coconut oil with the charcoal. That will remove the biofilm and plaque from the teeth. The coconut oil is anti-bacterial too.
Hmm. I have never heard that before. Do you have anything to back up that claim?
Liv, just recently discovered your blog here… and I’ve referred back to this particular article countless times over just this past week! Thank you, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart for writing this!
FTR, we do have a vet (conventional vet) appt. this afternoon — I’d SO love for him to say our Toby’s (yes, we have a Toby, TOO!) bottom gum is swollen from ragweed allergies!! BUT… in my heart of hearts, I know the vet will diagnose gingivitis & perhaps pressure us to do the anesthesia induced cleaning. If it came to saving Toby’s life, we’d do it! BUT — at his advanced age & all around frail health, I also know in my heart of hearts that Toby would not make it through surgery! ☹ Seeing he’s THE BEST dog we could ever imagine having, one who brings us joy & delight each and every day, we can’t just do it without great pondering and consideration.
My question is: what if the bottom 2 front teeth are already darkened? Does that mean they are rotten? Does that mean this cannot be turned around? So far I’ve been trying all these things you suggest (though it’s taking a while for the kreosotum to arrive from amazon, no health food store around here carried it) I’m brushing. I’m giving some bones…. WEIRD but he’s actually wildly allergic to animal protein! [probably from OVER vaccination!] So he can seem to do bison bones, but not so sure about beef bones.
“Your” Toby appeared to be eating a rib bone? That correct? Asking cuz I’ve not yet studied about giving them RIB bones; obviously we want kinds which will not fracture.
THANKS for your help, Liv! In all my years online, I found this to be one of THE MOST helpful articles I’ve ever read! I appreciate your giving us hope… that alone certainly means a lot!
I just saw the headline RE: your other blog post. CONGRATULATIONS on your pregnancy!
The fact that they are darkened alone doesn’t necessarily mean they are rotten or beyond repair. After seeing what your vet says I would def try the kreosotum for a bit and see if it improves before going the anesthesia route but at the same time keep in mind that if it is some kind of advanced dental disease that doesn’t respond to the remedies, it would likely be better for you dog’s health to have them pulled. Perhaps that could be done with just a local anesthetic and a few extra hands if the vet is willing. I believe it is a piece of a cow femur that my dog is chewing on. We get them from a local farm that raises grass fed beef which I use to make bone broth but also give my pup one every once and a while!
Hi thanks for all your advice re dog breath and gums as my greyhound as these issues too.
I would just like to fine tune the homeopathic remedy you have written above as my Materia Medica lists many Mercurius ( check your spelling?) however not one called solulinus – I have the Kreosote and have started with that one and would love more info on the other. Thank you
This is awesome. Oral health is the number one thing that pet owners neglect and periodontal disease can lead to soooo many other illnesses such as heart or liver disease. Annual dental cleaning with anesthesia is not for every dog, and if more owners would actively take care of their pets’ teeth whether with or without that cleaning, many pets would live so much longer.
I wish I would have been more on top of it in the beginning but I feel so thankful these remedies worked!