Duke just turned 8 and the vet finally said the word "dental disease" out loud
Now back in my day nobody brushed a beagle's teeth, you just hoped for the best and maybe gave a bone once a week. Duke's never had his teeth brushed in his life and the vet found some buildup and one tooth that might need to come out eventually. I feel like an idiot honestly. For those of you who do brush regularly, how did you actually get a stubborn older dog used to it? He will not sit still for anything near his mouth.
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8 years old and this is the FIRST dental issue?! That's honestly not bad at all lol. Nacho's already had buildup and he's only 3. You're doing better than you think old man 😄
I think it's also worth asking your vet if a dental cleaning under anesthesia makes sense now rather than waiting, especially if there's already buildup. I was nervous about that step with Luna but the vet walked me through it and it really wasn't as scary as I'd built it up to be in my head.
A few things that helped with Pixel, though cats and dogs aren't identical of course. Short sessions under 30 seconds at first. Same time every day so it becomes routine. Poultry flavored toothpaste made a big difference in cooperation. AllinPets actually has a full piece on dog dental care if it helps: Do You Need to Brush Your Dog's Teeth? Here's Everything You Should Know (https://allinpets.com/blog/dogs/do-you-need-to-brush-your-dogs-teeth-19/). And dental chews as a backup on days the brushing doesn't happen.
We started with Buster around age 2 and even then it took weeks of just letting him lick the toothpaste off our finger before we ever touched a brush to his teeth. With an 8 year old who's never had it done, I'd go even slower than that, maybe a finger brush first.