Short answer: This library lists the studies and sources behind PetdentistCare™ guides, grouped by theme: how common dental problems are, plaque and the oral microbiome, home care and the VOHC register, probiotics, anaesthesia, and horses. Each entry has a plain-English description, the year, what it found, an evidence grade and what it means for pet parents. None of them tested a Petdentist® product. The library is maintained by Biodontic™ and updated quarterly.
How to use this library
Grades follow our evidence standard. Most entries are B, because grade A is reserved for a controlled trial of an exact finished product. Horses are graded on the same scale, for horses only; guidance, registers and definitions are labelled rather than graded. Descriptions are ours and deliberately plain. If in doubt, the linked original wins.
Library maintained by Biodontic™; updated quarterly. Last reviewed September 2026.
How common are dental problems?
How often UK vets diagnose periodontal disease in dogs
Royal Veterinary College VetCompass · 2021 · Dogs · Veterinary records
What it found: Of 22,333 dogs at 784 UK practices, 12.5% were diagnosed with periodontal disease in one year. Dogs under 15 kg were 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed than dogs of 30 to 40 kg, and dogs aged eight or over three times more likely than dogs aged two to four. Greyhounds (32.2%), King Charles Spaniels (30.1%) and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (25.3%) were among the breeds most affected.
Grade: B species-specific population evidence
For pet parents: About one dog in eight is diagnosed in any year, and small, older and some pedigree dogs need extra attention.
Periodontal disease in cats under primary veterinary care in the UK
O'Neill and colleagues, RVC VetCompass · 2023 · Cats · Veterinary records
What it found: Of 18,249 cats sampled from more than 1.25 million UK primary-care cats, 15.2% were diagnosed with periodontal disease in a year (95% confidence interval 14.7% to 15.8%). Age was the strongest risk factor: cats over nine had more than six times the odds of cats under three. Siamese (18.7%) and Maine Coons (16.7%) had the highest breed prevalence.
Grade: B species-specific population evidence
For pet parents: Risk rises steeply with age, so a cat's routine and veterinary checks matter more every year.
Signs of oral disease by the age of three
American Veterinary Medical Association · February 2026 · Dogs and cats · Public guidance
What it says: Nearly 80% of dogs and 70% of cats show signs of oral disease by the age of three, a widely quoted lifetime estimate.
Grade: Guidance
For pet parents: A lifetime estimate of signs, not diagnoses in one year, so never set it against the RVC figures. Both say the same thing: dental care is part of ordinary life for most pets.
Plaque, calculus and the oral microbiome
The 48 to 72 hour plaque-to-tartar window used across this site summarises our comparative oral-biology notes rather than one study; primary studies of calculus formation will be added once read and graded.
Porphyromonas gulae and gum disease in dogs: current understanding
Review · 2025 · Dogs
What it covers: What is known about Porphyromonas gulae, a bacterium associated with gum disease in dogs, and what research should tackle next.
Grade: C species mechanistic evidence
For pet parents: Particular microbes thrive in mature plaque at the gumline, which is why daily cleaning there matters. It says nothing about any product.
Microbe-based approaches to gum disease in dogs: where the science stands
Review · 2026 · Dogs
What it found: Probiotic and postbiotic approaches look promising, but veterinary clinical evidence is limited, introduced microbes tend to persist only briefly, and biosafety and regulatory pathways are unresolved. It also looks at newer ideas, such as bacteriophages.
Grade: C review of largely early evidence
For pet parents: Microbiome products are an active research area, not a settled one. Daily cleaning remains the foundation.
How the cat's oral microbiome changes in common oral conditions
Review · 2026 · Cats
What it covers: Studies showing that the oral microbial community of cats shifts in common oral conditions.
Grade: C species mechanistic evidence, cats
For pet parents: Cats have their own oral community and their own evidence. Nothing learned in dogs is assumed to apply.
Brushing, chews and water additives
We have not yet added individual trials of brushing, chews or water additives; they will appear once read and graded. Meanwhile, the most useful independent resource is the VOHC register.
The VOHC accepted-products register
Veterinary Oral Health Council · ongoing · Dogs and cats · Register
What it is: The public list of products that have met the VOHC's protocols for helping control plaque and/or tartar, including chews, water additives, powders and toothpastes. Acceptance requires two independent trials with no animals shared between them.
Grade: Register each listing rests on trials of that product
For pet parents: Check any VOHC mention against the register for that exact product, claim and species. In our range, only Petsmile® Professional Pet Toothpaste is accepted: for plaque, in dogs.
Dental probiotics and postbiotics
Each result belongs to the exact strain, amount and format tested. Full discussion: dental probiotics, decoded.
A heat-treated Lactiplantibacillus plantarum preparation (CECT 9161) in dogs
Florit-Ruiz and colleagues · 2025 · Dogs · Placebo-controlled trial, 60 dogs
What it found: Dogs given the preparation at either of two daily amounts showed changes in plaque-related measures and in the genes of their oral microbial community, compared with placebo. The authors report associations; the preparation is proprietary.
Grade: B for this exact preparation, in dogs
For pet parents: A promising signal for one preparation; not evidence for other strains or products, including ours.
Two live strains, L. plantarum Kmiate-6 and Pediococcus acidilactici Kmiate-15, in dogs
Hu and colleagues · 2026 · Dogs · 21-day intervention, with laboratory work
What it found: After 21 days, the authors reported changes in plaque measures, in salivary markers and in the oral microbial community, including a lower share of Fusobacterium and Porphyromonas. In laboratory tests, the strains slowed the growth of oral microbes.
Grade: B for this combination, in dogs; D for the laboratory work
For pet parents: An encouraging signal from one short study of one combination. Worth watching; not a basis for product claims.
A dog-derived strain, Lactobacillus acidophilus MJCD175
You and colleagues · 2022 · Dogs · Laboratory screening and a small study in dogs
What it found: Strains isolated from healthy dogs were screened in the laboratory. In a small study in dogs, MJCD175 given alone was associated with less Porphyromonas gingivalis DNA in the mouth, while a multi-strain mix did not show the same effect.
Grade: B small study, this strain; D for the screening
For pet parents: More strains is not automatically better, and strains that come from dogs are an interesting research direction.
Three probiotic strains and the oral microbiota of cats
Study in cats · 2024 · 42 days
What it found: Feeding Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis HN019, Lactobacillus acidophilus NCFM and Lactobacillus casei LC-11 for 42 days shifted the microbial community at several sites in the mouth. The authors describe the feline evidence base as underexplored.
Grade: B for these strains, in cats; community measures only
For pet parents: Cat evidence is early. A changed community is not the same as less plaque, and there is no comparable plaque evidence in cats yet.
The international definition of a postbiotic
ISAPP consensus statement · 2021 · Nature Reviews Gastroenterology and Hepatology
What it says: A postbiotic is a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host. Inactivation alone does not make one; the exact preparation needs evidence.
Grade: Definition
For pet parents: “Heat-killed” on a label describes processing, not proof of benefit. Ask for evidence on the exact preparation.
Anaesthesia and professional dental care
AAHA Dental Care Guidelines for Dogs and Cats: non-anaesthetic dentistry
American Animal Hospital Association · 2019 · Dogs and cats · Professional guideline
What it says: Non-anaesthetic (“anaesthesia-free”) dentistry is “not appropriate” for dogs and cats. Cleaning below the gumline, dental X-rays and probing the gum pockets are impossible in a conscious animal; the procedure is stressful, carries a risk of inhaling debris, and can give owners a “false sense of benefit”.
Grade: Guideline
For pet parents: A proper dental clean and assessment needs anaesthesia, with your vet. Home care protects that work between visits; it never replaces it.
Horses
Periodontal disease, diastemata and peripheral caries in UK horses
Suthers and colleagues · 2019 · Horses · First-opinion population study, 932 horses
What it found: Over one year in south-west England and south Wales, 13.9% of horses had periodontal disease, 8.7% diastemata (gaps between teeth where food can pack) and 8.2% peripheral caries. Disease was more common in the lower jaw than the upper, and strongly linked with age.
Grade: B species-specific population evidence, horses
For owners: Oral problems are common and increase with age, so regular checks by a vet or a qualified equine dental technician matter, especially for older horses.
How management affects oral problems in horses
Frontiers in Veterinary Science · 2026 · Horses
What it found: Diastemata were found in 65.2% of horses under semi-extensive management and 82.6% under extensive management, suggesting that how horses are kept and fed strongly influences oral health.
Grade: B species-specific evidence, horses
For owners: Housing and feeding matter. The figures are far higher than the 8.7% in the UK study because populations and study designs differ: always compare like with like.
What is not here yet
An honest library shows its gaps. Not yet added:
- controlled studies of brushing, dental chews and water additives in dogs and cats;
- primary studies of how quickly plaque mineralises into calculus;
- studies of individual ingredients, such as polyphosphates, kelp and zinc;
- oral-microbiome research in horses and camels;
- any study of a Petdentist® product. None has been published yet; when one is, it will be listed here with its methods, grade and limitations.
Know a study we should read? Email [email protected] with the subject “Research library”.
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.
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.