Are Dental Chews Worth It? The VOHC List and the Ingredient Panel

Dental chews are worth it only if they carry the Veterinary Oral Health Council seal, and even then they are a supplement to brushing, not a replacement for it. Most chews on the shelf have no trial data behind the word "dental" on the bag, and a fair number are sugary, calorie-heavy treats with a health claim on top. This post explains what the VOHC seal actually means, how to read a chew's ingredient panel, how to keep the calories from undoing the benefit, and where chews sit in a real dental routine.

Are dental chews worth it? The short version

Brushing is the standard. The AVMA calls it "the single most effective thing you can do to keep their teeth healthy between dental cleanings,"1 and the 2019 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines say "Brushing needs to be done daily to be of benefit."2 Cornell's Riney Canine Health Center puts chews in their place: "Other home care strategies (such as dental chews, water additives, sprays, etc.) work best when used in conjunction with tooth brushing."3

So the honest answer is: a VOHC-accepted chew, given daily, on top of brushing, is a reasonable second layer. A chew instead of brushing is a compromise. A chew without the seal is a treat.

What the VOHC seal means (and does not mean)

The Veterinary Oral Health Council is the closest thing dog dental products have to an independent referee. It does not run its own trials. In VOHC's words: "The VOHC does not test products itself. The Mission of the Veterinary Oral Health Council is to review products for the VOHC's standards for effective plaque and tartar control in animals when used as directed." When a submitted product clears the bar, "the VOHC Seal of Acceptance is awarded. The Seal can be for Plaque, Calculus, or both."4

Two things to notice. First, the seal is specific: a product may be accepted for plaque only, tartar (calculus) only, or both. Check which. Second, manufacturers have to submit data to get on the list, so a good product might be missing simply because the company never applied. The absence of a seal is not proof a chew is useless. The presence of one is proof someone ran a controlled trial and it showed a measurable reduction.

The VOHC accepted products list for dogs is organized by category: dental diets, rawhide chews, edible chew treats, water additives and gels and toothpastes, toothbrushes and wipes, and professional sealants.5 The edible chew category includes several Greenies formulas, Purina DentaLife, OraVet, Pedigree Dentastix, C.E.T. VeggieDent, ProDen PlaqueOff, Tartar Shield rawhide, and Whimzees Brushzees at the time I checked. Listing them is not an endorsement of the ingredient panels, some of which are mediocre. It is the pool to shop from.

How a chew works, when it works

Two mechanisms. Mechanical: the tooth sinks into the chew and the surface gets scraped as it pulls out. This only happens if the chew is firm enough to resist but soft enough to give. Chemical: some chews add a compound (zinc, polyphosphates, enzymes) meant to slow plaque or tartar formation. VCA's halitosis page notes that products containing zinc can inhibit odor formation.6

The mechanical part is why very hard chews fail. A chew the dog cannot dent does not clean, it just tests the enamel. Cornell: "Chewing hard objects can result in either gradually wearing or fracturing of teeth. Use caution when offering your dog any hard objects including bones, antlers, hooves, rawhide and hard manufactured toys."3 The thumbnail test holds: if you cannot leave a mark with your nail, skip it.

Reading the ingredient panel

Turn the bag over. This is where "dental" chews separate into two groups.

  • Sweeteners. Corn syrup, sugar, molasses, dextrose. A product sold to reduce bacteria at the gumline should not be feeding them. This is the fastest disqualifier.
  • Artificial colors. They do nothing for teeth. They tell you the product was designed for the shelf, not the mouth.
  • The first ingredient. Many chews are wheat or rice flour first, which is fine for texture and does not make them "meat." Just know what you are paying for.
  • Calories. A large dental chew can run over 100 calories. The AVMA's rule for all treats is to "limit treats to less than 10% of your pet's daily calorie needs."7 For a 25 pound dog eating around 600 calories a day, one big chew can eat that whole budget. Cut the meal back to compensate, or pick a smaller size. Our post on dog obesity statistics covers why this matters more than it seems.
  • Size. Buy the size for your dog's weight. A chew swallowed in two bites did no cleaning and is now an obstruction risk.

Under The Truva Standard we check chews the same way we check food: a named ingredient panel first, evidence second. A chew with a VOHC seal and corn syrup in the top five ingredients passes on evidence and fails on ingredients, and we say so. You can browse what cleared a B or better in our treats and chews collection.

Where chews fit in a routine

Brush first. The trial behind AAHA's daily guidance, Harvey, Serfilippi and Barnvos (Journal of Veterinary Dentistry, 2015), found that "Brushing daily or every other day produced statistically significant improved results compared with brushing weekly or every other week."8 Nothing a chew does matches that. If you have a dog who fights the brush, our step-by-step for reluctant dogs gets most dogs there in two weeks, and the Fresh Breath Starter Kit has what you need for it.

Then add one VOHC-accepted chew a day, ideally after a meal, sized to the dog, with the calories subtracted from dinner. That is the whole protocol. If you are choosing between a chew and a water additive as the second layer, the chew has the mechanical action. Both are on VOHC's list. Neither removes tartar that is already there. For a dog with brown teeth, the order is: professional cleaning, then brushing, then chews to keep it that way. We ranked every option in natural dog teeth cleaning alternatives.

What I would skip

Antlers, hooves, and bones sold as "dental" chews, for the fracture reason above. Any chew with a sweetener in the first five ingredients. "Dental" powders or chews with no seal and no trial you can find. And dental chews for a dog under six months, whose teeth are still coming in. Puppies should be learning to accept a brush at that age, which is the cheaper habit anyway.

When to call the vet

If your dog suddenly drops a chew, chews only on one side, or has a chipped or discolored tooth after a hard chew, book an exam. A slab fracture often looks minor from the outside and hurts a lot. Also call if a chew causes vomiting, straining, or a dog that stops eating, since a swallowed chunk can block the gut. And if the breath and tartar are already bad, no chew fixes that. The cleaning comes first.

Start my dog's brushing routine

Sources

  1. American Veterinary Medical Association, "Pet dental care." avma.org
  2. American Animal Hospital Association, "2019 AAHA Dental Care Guidelines," 2019. aaha.org
  3. Cornell University Riney Canine Health Center, "Dental sprays" and "Dental disease and home dental care." vet.cornell.edu
  4. Veterinary Oral Health Council, "VOHC Seal of Acceptance." vohc.org
  5. Veterinary Oral Health Council, "VOHC Accepted Products for Dogs." vohc.org
  6. VCA Animal Hospitals, "Halitosis in Dogs." vcahospitals.com
  7. American Veterinary Medical Association, "Your pet's healthy weight." avma.org
  8. Harvey C, Serfilippi L, Barnvos D, "Effect of Frequency of Brushing Teeth on Plaque and Calculus Accumulation, and Gingivitis in Dogs," Journal of Veterinary Dentistry 32(1):16-21, 2015. journals.sagepub.com