DOGS' TEETH

Abstract

There's a war going on in California over who should clean dog's teeth. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, pet groomers who charge about $5 to clean dog's teeth say there is a veterinarian-backed conspiracy to drive them out of the dog tooth-care business. The vets, who get about $100 for dog-tooth prophylaxis, say that allowing pet groomers to clean dogs' teeth is like letting hairdressers perform surgery. State officials, insistent that dogs' teeth should be cleaned only by licensed vets, sent in an undercover pooch to break up what they considered an illegal dog tooth cleaning operation. The groomer and dog tooth cleaner involved promptly sued the state, noting that the state's business and veterinary-medicine codes do not prohibit groomers from cleaning dogs' teeth. A Superior Court judge ruled that there is no wrongdoing in brushing, flossing, or even scraping a dog's teeth with metal dental instruments. He did, however, grant a state-sought injunction prohibiting groomers from using ultrasonic tooth-cleaning devices or metal scrapers above or below the gumline. The size of the dog-tooth cleaning business is hard to estimate. According the WSJ, a good dog tooth cleaner can see easily a hundred patients a month. There are also 3000 vets in California-including a few who specialize in dog dentistry. Both sides do agree on one thing: dogs that get their teeth cleaned regularly have fresher breath.