Short answer: PetdentistCare™ grades the evidence behind every scientific statement from A (a controlled trial of the exact product, in the species it is sold for) to E (a theoretical rationale), and the strength of a claim never exceeds the strength of its evidence. Dogs, cats and horses have very different mouths, so each species gets its own evidence. Biodontic™, our science division, maps and grades the research; Odovyx™, our ingredient technology platform, turns it into safety-reviewed ingredient choices; and our Science & Compliance Office checks every word before it is published.
Why we grade evidence from A to E
Pet oral-care marketing often quotes a laboratory dish, a study in people and a trial in dogs in the same breath, as if they proved the same thing. They do not, so we grade.
A grade tells you how directly the evidence applies to the statement beside it. A means a controlled trial of the exact finished product, in the species it is sold for. B means a strain- or species-specific study in dogs or cats. C is species mechanistic evidence, such as how the microbes in a dog's mouth change as gums become unhealthy. D is laboratory (in-vitro) work. E is a sensible idea not yet tested.
One rule follows: the strength of a claim never exceeds the strength of its evidence. Results in people are never used for pets, results in dogs are never used for cats, and one strain's results never stand in for another's. Read the full evidence standard.
Three mouths compared: dogs, cats and horses
Most mistakes in pet oral care start with a false assumption: that a dog's mouth works like ours, or that a cat's works like a dog's. Here are the three species side by side.
| Feature | Dogs | Cats | Horses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult teeth | 42 | 30 | 36 to 44, varying between individuals |
| How the teeth grow | A fixed adult set, through by around six to seven months | A fixed adult set, through by around six months | Long-crowned (hypsodont) cheek teeth that keep erupting throughout life |
| Saliva | Alkaline, around pH 7.5 to 8.5 | Alkaline, around pH 7.5 to 8.5 | To be confirmed |
| Enamel | Thin: about 0.1 to 0.6 mm | Thin: about 0.1 to 0.6 mm | To be confirmed |
| Plaque to tartar | Soft plaque can begin to harden within about 48 to 72 hours | Soft plaque can begin to harden within about 48 to 72 hours | To be confirmed |
| What vets look for | Plaque and tartar at the gumline, periodontal disease, broken teeth (especially the large upper cheek teeth), retained baby teeth and crowding in short-muzzled breeds | Periodontal disease, tooth resorption and stomatitis; cats hide discomfort, so changes are easy to miss | Sharp enamel points and hooks, diastemata (gaps where food packs), periodontal disease, peripheral caries and, in older horses, equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) |
| How common (UK studies) | 12.5% diagnosed with periodontal disease in a year | 15.2% diagnosed with periodontal disease in a year | Periodontal disease in 13.9% and diastemata in 8.7% of 932 horses |
| UK population | About 15.5 million | About 13 million | About 600,000 horses and ponies |
| Professional care | A veterinary surgeon | A veterinary surgeon | Veterinary surgeons and, in the UK, BAEDT/BEVA-qualified equine dental technicians |
Sources: Petdentist® comparative oral-biology notes; Royal Veterinary College VetCompass studies of dogs (2021) and cats (O'Neill and colleagues, 2023); a UK first-opinion equine study (Suthers and colleagues, 2019); UK Pet Food population data (January 2026). The prevalence figures come from different study designs and should not be compared directly. Where our review is not complete, we say “to be confirmed” rather than guess.
For comparison, people have 32 adult teeth, saliva closer to pH 6.5 to 7.0 and enamel about 2 to 2.5 mm thick. That is why dogs and cats rarely get the cavities we do but build tartar quickly, and why human toothpaste has no place in a pet's mouth.
The oral microbiome: what we know, and what we don't
Every mouth carries a community of microbes. In dogs and cats most of it lives in biofilm: the soft, sticky film we call plaque, which re-forms constantly and is thickest along the gumline.
Reasonably well established
- Dogs and cats each carry their own oral microbial community, distinct from each other's and from ours C.
- In both species the community differs between healthy and unhealthy mouths C. In dogs, published studies describe a shift towards groups such as Porphyromonas (notably Porphyromonas gulae), Prevotella, Treponema, Tannerella and Fusobacterium as gums become unhealthy C.
- A few specific probiotic strains and heat-inactivated preparations have been studied in small, short-term trials: in dogs with plaque-related and microbial measures, and in cats with microbial measures only B for those exact strains.
Still unknown
- What a healthy oral community looks like for an individual pet, and whether the shift mainly drives gum changes, follows them, or both.
- Whether any product changes the community in a way that lasts, and how much it adds for a pet whose teeth are cleaned every day.
- How any of this applies to horses and camels. We have not yet reviewed their oral-microbiome research, and we assume nothing from dogs or cats.
What is known points to one aim for daily care: balance, not sterility. Read the full guide to the oral microbiome.
How Biodontic™ and Odovyx™ work together
Biodontic™ is Petdentist's science division: the science of a healthier oral biome. Odovyx™ is our ingredient technology platform, where nature meets advanced oral care. They answer different questions, in a fixed order.
Map
Biodontic™ builds a structured map of the literature, from the canine and feline oral microbiome to plaque, calculus and breath, and grades each finding.
Select
Odovyx™ chooses ingredients only where evidence, species safety and format agree, and documents every raw material.
Test
Safety, stability and palatability come first. A claim that needs it waits for a controlled trial of the exact product, designed before it starts.
Review
The Science & Compliance Office checks every word against the evidence grade and the rules of each market.
Publish
Findings go into the research library with their grade and limits, and pages are updated as the evidence changes.
An independent scientific advisory board, now being recruited, will challenge each stage. Neither division makes a claim the evidence has not earned, and neither publishes formulations.
Where our science stops
We are a pet oral-care company, not a veterinary practice. Our founder, Dr Deepak Songra, is a human dental surgeon, not a veterinary surgeon. Our education explains how mouths work, what vets look for and when to see one; it never diagnoses an individual animal, and no product on this platform is a medicine.
The honest limits matter as much as the findings. Most pet oral-microbiome research is recent, small and short, and we would rather tell you so than sell around it.
When to see your vet
If you notice loose or wobbly teeth, swelling, discharge, bleeding that does not settle, reluctance to eat, dropping food, drooling, pawing at the mouth or any change in behaviour, please contact your veterinary surgeon promptly. Home care supports professional care — it never replaces it.
How we grade evidence
Every scientific statement on this site carries a grade: A product-specific controlled trial · B strain- or species-specific study in dogs or cats · C species mechanistic evidence · D laboratory (in-vitro) evidence · E theoretical rationale. The strength of a claim never exceeds the strength of its evidence. Read our evidence standards.