Disclaimer: UPDATE: 11/09/13: I have stopped using the PlaqueBlast for about a year now. I have since put Yoshi on a raw food diet with much better results! See the article here!
Ok, so I finally got my paws on a bottle of Plaque Blast
spray to use on my dog. His name is Yoshi and he is a 7lb (six without the fur) 6.5 year old chocolate Pomeranian (at the time of this writing) with breath that would make a group of grown men cry.
The Plaque Blast order I placed from the official site says it would take 3-6 weeks and I really couldn’t wait. The reviews I’ve read have been pretty positive so I had to try it for myself.
Plaque Blast says that it will clean a dog or cat’s teeth and freshen breath in 30 days (brushing also recommended). I honestly won’t do the brushing but I will attempt to do the spray 3 times a day. I will try to document the progress as we spray along because I’ve been looking for something that will kill my little dog’s breath and the plaque buildup without torturing him with a toothbrush or the dentist.
The nice thing that I’ve read about Plaque Blast is that there is no alcohol…grain or otherwise.
So here we go:
Day 1 (01/25/2012): Combined the Activator liquid into the Base liquid, shook, grabbed the Yoshi, and gave two sprays on each side’s back teeth and two sprays in front. Gave another set of sprays before bed. Not expecting results today. Continue tomorrow.
Day 2 (1/26/12): Wow! Already I’ve noticed that Yoshi’s breath is LESS stinky which equals more
tolerable! There is a very light hint of fish but I’m hoping that will be gone soon if this keeps up. I’ve done my 3 sets for today. Yoshi is pretty tolerant of the spray in his mouth, but then again he’s pretty tolerant of anything!
This is soooo exciting! I’m really looking forward to when the plaque and tartar start to come off of his teeth. But the breath is DEFINITELY primary focus.
Day 3 (1/27/12): Breath is again practically unnoticeable. Plaque is still there. Not expecting plaque results this quickly but definitely awaiting the day!
Day 4 (1/28/12): Breath is still maintaining. Only did 2 sprays today because when I started to get ready for bed Yoshi decided he was ready to finish his dinner and I was too tired to wait the 30 minutes.
In the morning I did try to give his teeth a brush to see if any of the plaque was ready to come off but nothing as of yet.
Day 5 (1/29/12): Again only 2 sprays: after work and 9pm. Yoshi slept in today and decided he was going to pass on breakfast.
Day 6 (1/30/12): 3 sprays.
Day 7 (1/31/12): 3 sprays.
Day 8 (2/1/12): Can’t believe it is already February! Only a few more days until my exam. Eep!
Before I gave Yoshi his 9pm spray I did notice his breath still had a hint of “doggy breath” but it quickly passed. Though it did alarm me because I am REALLY hoping that this product will work for the long term.
I must say that the spray does have a slight hint of a “bleach” smell to it. I doubt that bleach is in the product as that would be a big NO NO. Some of the spray gets on the fur near his mouth and it has made those areas smell a bit weird. I have begun using a wet washcloth to wipe around his mouth to hopefully clean away some of the excess spray.
Day 9 (02/02/12): 3 Sprays…. or 2?? My brain is about as fuzzy as my dog right about now.
Day 10 (2/03/12): Yep, I’m going on a laze. Only gave Yoshi the after-work spray. Will give him the before-bed spray as well.
Day 11 (2/04/12): 2 sprays. I noticed some funky breath today. I’m hoping Yoshi is not going through a relapse. I would hate to go back to what it was. Bleah. I have to get rid of one of his favorite toys that’s pretty gross. I’m sure it’s not helping the process. I suppose I could wash it.
Day 12 (2/05/12): 3 sprays. Yoshi and I took our doggie cousin, Wallace, to the dog park. This was Wallace’s first time. While we waited for him to get ready we went to Polka Dog Bakery on Shawmut Ave to see what we could buy to enhance the Plaque Blast experience.
Yoshi is very particular about his treats. The staff recommended some dried yams which he immediately took a great liking to. We also found him a few hard jerky sticks. I also found one of those double ended toothbrushes, the one with the small side and big side. $1.95. Not bad.
Also saw another dental spray that is available: Petrodex. If anyone out there has used it please advise of your experience in the Comments.
Day 13 (2/06/12): 0 sprays…really lazy today.
Day 14 (2/07/12): Did the AM spray before heading to work. Since the plaque still hasn’t really changed much I decided to try incorporating some brushing with the new brush. A bit of bleeding at the gum line, but that was expected.
Day 15 (2/08/12): Still no real sign of the plaque disappearing and we’re halfway through the month. I decided to give the plaque the fingernail try. Only a small piece broke off one of the back premolars. Success?….hmmm not yet.
Still thinking of other alternatives in case this doesn’t all pan out at the end of the month. Saw a product called Dentasure. Also claims the same as PlaqueBlast. It’s $29.99 for a 4oz bottle. Please advise if you have used this product.
Another blog suggested using an electric toothbrush, Oral B specifically.
Also thinking if this doesn’t work I will probably cough up the dough and pay for a proper cleaning then use the spray and toothbrush as the preventative.
I think I did two sprays today, and Yoshi won’t come out from underneath the bed for the 3rd. I’ve also got a raging headache so I’m not going to push the issue tonight.
Day 16 (2/09/12): Had an epiphany today. Realized that if I brushed his teeth BEFORE I sprayed perhaps it would help remove some of the bacterial film that is on there. I’m giving it a try. 3 sprays.
Yoshi sat in my lap this evening and I was getting an occasional waft of something. But definitely not as bad as before. My friend said that it’s now like normal doggy breath. I suppose.
Day 17 (02/10/12): Gave Yoshi his morning brush and spray today. That smell of bleach is really bugging me. I had a look at the ingredients again and they look chemically. I may finish out these 30 days with the PlaqueBlast and look into another spray (maybe Petrodex?) whose ingredients I can read and understand. During my research someone had mentioned something about grape seed oil/extract….???
Day18 (02/11/12): Yoshi got 1 spray today. Just the AM one. Taxes got done and a 5 hour walk around the New England Boat show put us humans in a coma for the rest of the day.
Day 19 (2/12/12): Spray in the AM then Yoshi and I went for a long walk along the Charles. Then we went to Home Goods and found a Mint Dental Toothpaste with Brush. Good reviews that I quickly found on my phone. So I bought it to incorporate with the Plaque Blast. Going to stay away from the Poultry and Beef flavored toothpaste. Yoshi also finally had a bath today. Now he’s SuperFluff!
Day Whatever (02/28/12): So I’ve slacked on my daily journal. I ran out of PlaqueBlast before the 30 days, but that is okay. I am still able to make an honest assessment to the functionality of this product.
The ingredients in Plaque Blast right off of the bottle and what I can find of their intended purpose in the Plaque Blast recipe are:
Deionized water – ok…I can get with that
Sodium hexametaphosphate (SHMP) – ummm…excuse you? This doesn’t sound too good, BUUUT I did find this interesting article in a Google Search called “Effect of sodium hexametaphosphate on dental calculus formation in dogs.” Reduction of dental calculus aka plaque. So this is why it is the second ingredient on the list. Click here for the Wikipedia definition.
Glycerin – This is like the sweetener to make it taste better, I guess.
Phosphino carboxylic acid – from this pdf: “It inhibits deposition of Ca / Mg salts (carbonates, sulfates and phosphates), Barium sulfate and other low solubility salts, which are responsible for deposition of scales.” My translation: stops the plaque from building up.
Potassium iodide – According to naturalnews.com “Standard source of potassium, balances acid/alkaline levels.”
Potassium phosphate – acid stabilizer and potassium
Sodium fluoride – teeth strengther
Disodium phosphate – buffer
Sodium citrate – Another buffer
Propylene glycol – from what I can find about this not a lot of people like it. It’s supposed to be harmful to cats, so taken out of cat food, but still in dog food. It’s cousin, ethylene glycol is used in anti-freeze. Interesting. Click here for more information and tell me what you think in the Comments.
Poloxamer 407 – Lipid, aka fat, removal?
Sucralose – from Wikipedia “no calorie sweetener and does not promote dental cavities”.
Phosphoric acid – to give syrupy consistency. Also used in colas….and rust removal! lol. Wonder what that does to your stomach lining?
Alot of it sounds like a crazy chemistry experiment. Obviously it would be a little bit more palatable if we read herbs and plants and spices, but I suppose if we’re THAAAAT lazy that we won’t brush, it’ll have to be some sort of chemistry conconction.
All in all Yoshi’s teeth still have the hard plaque on it after doing the spray for at least 20 days, BUT his breath was MUCH improved. Normal doggy breath as opposed to which-end-is-your-butt breath. I finally got confirmation that my Plaque Blast order from 01/09/12 is on it’s way to me. So I will have 60 more days to see if the plaque starts to whiten. Which brings me to my con: why does the product smell like bleach?….but if only for a few seconds.
UPDATE: 03/17/12 I’ve been continuously using the Plaque Blast every day – 2-3 times a day on Yoshi and I am VERY proud to report to that 90% of the plaque on his back molars was picked off leaving white teeth underneath.I’m also still brushing his teeth before the spray and his breath is smelling “doggy” fresh.
UPDATE: 11/09/13: I have stopped using the PlaqueBlast for about a year now. I have since put Yoshi on a raw food diet with much better results!
E-Rating (1-Meh, 5- Eenae Endorsed, e-half): EEEe