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Dental Issues in Chow Chows

Quick answer

Why can I not check my Chow's gums for redness?

Because they are usually heavily pigmented. Use texture, smell and bleeding on contact instead of colour.

The blue-black tongue is the Chow's signature, and the same pigmentation typically extends across the gums. Inflamed gums are supposed to look red. On a dog whose gums are already black, the single most-taught home check for dental disease simply does not work.

Dental Issues in Chow Chows infographic

Every Chow owner, because the visual shortcut is unavailable and something has to replace it. It is particularly relevant for owners of young dogs, where establishing tooth-brushing early is realistic, and for owners of adult Chows who have never had a mouth examined properly.

Important reminder

This guide is not medical advice. If your dog shows pain, sudden behavior change, or worsening symptoms, consult a licensed veterinarian.

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What this problem looks like

Dental disease in dogs is progressive destruction of the gum, ligament and bone that hold teeth in place, driven by plaque bacteria. It is painful long before a dog stops eating. In the Chow Chow, a short broad jaw crowds the teeth and heavily pigmented gums remove the standard visual check for inflammation, so detection depends on texture, smell and behaviour rather than appearance.

Common triggers

  • Plaque accumulating undisturbed along the gum line
  • Crowded teeth in a short broad jaw trapping debris between them
  • Absence of a regular tooth-brushing routine
  • Soft diets that provide no mechanical cleaning at all
  • Diabetes, documented in this breed, which impairs response to oral infection

Periodontal disease affects the majority of adult dogs across all breeds by middle age, so a Chow owner should assume it is developing rather than hope it is not. What the breed adds is later detection, because the mouth gives an owner far less visual information than most, and because a reserved, self-contained dog is unlikely to make a fuss about a sore tooth.

Why this happens

Breed factors

Two structural features matter. The Chow Chow's muzzle is comparatively short and broad, so the same forty-two adult teeth occupy less jaw length and sit in tighter contact, creating spaces that trap debris and resist cleaning. And the breed's characteristic pigmentation, famous in the blue-black tongue, typically extends across the gums, which removes the reddening that would otherwise flag early gingivitis. Beyond anatomy, the temperament contributes: a breed described as independent and reserved, scoring low on trainability, is less naturally tolerant of daily handling of its mouth than a biddable retriever, so brushing routines fail more often here.

Environment factors

The dominant factor is whether anyone is cleaning the teeth, and how often. Diet composition plays a smaller role than owners hope; texture provides some mechanical benefit but no food substitutes for brushing. Chewing on inappropriately hard objects - antlers, bones, hard nylon - causes tooth fractures, which are a separate and painful problem and are worth avoiding. Households that never look in the dog's mouth find problems at the point of tooth loss rather than at the point of gingivitis.

What you can do at home (once it is not an emergency)

When to talk to your vet

Book an appointment for offensive breath, visible tartar, gums that feel soft or bleed on contact, a loose or discoloured tooth, or a change in how the dog eats. Seek urgent same-day care for facial swelling below an eye, which usually indicates a tooth root abscess; for a fractured tooth with a visible pink or dark centre, which exposes the pulp and is genuinely painful; for a dog that cannot close its mouth or is drooling blood; or for any mass in the mouth, since stomach and oral tumours both warrant prompt assessment and stomach cancer is documented in this breed.

At home, alongside your vet's plan

  • Build tooth-brushing gradually over several weeks, starting with a tasty paste on a finger and progressing to a brush only once the dog is relaxed.
  • Do a structured monthly mouth check using smell, texture and side-to-side comparison rather than colour.
  • Photograph the outer surfaces of the upper cheek teeth every few months in good light for comparison.
  • Avoid antlers, bones and hard nylon chews, which fracture teeth in a strong-jawed breed.
  • Note any change in chewing side, dropped food or reluctance to take a hard treat, and mention it at the next appointment.

More Chow Chow health & behavior issues

See all Chow Chow health problems, which breeds are prone to dental issues, or the full Chow Chow breed guide for temperament, exercise needs and ownership costs.

What to expect, and how you know it is working

Building brushing tolerance takes four to eight weeks of short daily sessions in a puppy, longer in an adult. Gingivitis can reverse within weeks of consistent brushing; bone loss around a tooth cannot be reversed at all. After a professional dental, the mouth is comfortable within a few days, and how quickly disease returns depends almost entirely on what happens at home in the following months.

Success is neutral breath, gums that feel firm at the margin, and a professional dental needed occasionally rather than repeatedly. Some teeth may still be lost over a nine to fifteen year lifespan, and losing a diseased tooth is a good outcome rather than a failure. The realistic target is a comfortable mouth throughout life, not a perfect set of teeth at fourteen.

Two Breed Features That Work Against You

The first is jaw shape. A Chow Chow carries a full set of teeth in a comparatively short, broad muzzle, which means those teeth are spaced more tightly than they would be in a long-jawed dog. Crowded teeth trap food and plaque between them, and the tight contacts are exactly where a toothbrush struggles to reach. Crowding is a mechanical disadvantage that no amount of chewing will overcome.

The second is pigment. Gingivitis is conventionally recognised by a red line along the gum margin. On heavily pigmented gums that line is invisible. What remains available to you is texture, smell, and the dog's behaviour - so the home check has to be rebuilt around those instead.

Run a fingertip along the gum margin. Healthy gum feels firm and smooth and sits tight against the tooth. Diseased gum feels soft, puffy or spongy, and may recede so that a rougher root surface can be felt. Bleeding on gentle contact is significant regardless of what colour the gum is.

Smell is the other honest indicator. A healthy dog's mouth is fairly neutral. A genuinely offensive smell is not normal dog breath; it is a finding.

On a pigmented mouth, texture and smell replace the redness check for dental disease
On a pigmented mouth, texture and smell replace the redness check for dental disease

A Home Mouth Check That Works on This Breed

None of these depend on gum colour. Done monthly, they will find most problems earlier than waiting for the dog to stop eating.

  • Smell first, before touching anything. A strong odour from a few inches away is a reason to book an appointment.
  • Lift the lip on both sides and look at the large upper premolars and molars, which is where tartar accumulates first and heaviest.
  • Feel the gum margin with a clean fingertip - firm and tight is normal, soft and spongy is not, and any bleeding matters.
  • Check whether the dog chews on one side only, or drops food, or has become slower to eat something it used to enjoy.
  • Look for any mass, ulcer or swelling on the gum, tongue or inside the cheek, and photograph anything you find.
  • Note facial swelling below an eye, which classically indicates an abscess on an upper tooth root.
  • Compare the two sides of the mouth against each other, since asymmetry is often easier to spot than an absolute abnormality.

What to do next about dental issues in Chows

If you think your Chow has dental issues, the plan is three steps: write down what you have seen and when it started, book a veterinary appointment rather than waiting for the next flare, and take video of the behaviour or symptom before you go — the thing you are worried about rarely happens in the consulting room. Screening in the parents covers hip dysplasia, elbow dysplasia, entropion.

What the vet visit should produce is a diagnosis and a written plan, not just reassurance: what is being ruled out, what the monitoring interval is, and which signs mean you come back sooner. Ask what the treatment costs across a year rather than per visit, because that is the number that decides whether you are managing this condition or reacting to it.

Between appointments, keep a short log — dates, what you saw, what changed. It is the single most useful thing an owner brings to a follow-up, and for dental issues it is often what separates a clear pattern from a guess.

The Smell Before Anything Else

Sable was seven and had never had her teeth brushed. Her owner, Tomasz, had looked in her mouth occasionally, seen black gums that looked the same as they always had, and concluded that everything was fine. What he noticed that winter was the smell. Sable liked to sleep with her head near his feet on the sofa, and he found himself moving away from her. He mentioned it almost apologetically at her booster appointment. The examination found heavy tartar on both upper cheek tooth rows and gums that receded when touched. Radiographs under anaesthetic showed significant bone loss around three teeth, all of which were extracted. The vet's point, which Tomasz repeated afterwards to anyone who would listen, was that Sable had almost certainly been uncomfortable for a year and had never once shown it. She now has her teeth brushed most evenings. It took about six weeks to get her to accept the brush, working up from a finger and a smear of paste.

Key takeaway: On a black-gummed, stoic breed, smell and texture are the checks that work, and behaviour will not warn you. If you cannot look for redness, build the monthly habit of lifting the lip and using your nose and your fingertip instead.

Frequently asked questions

Is dental disease worse in Chow Chows?

The breed is not singled out for it in the way it is for hip and elbow dysplasia or eye conditions. What is specific is that a shorter, broader jaw crowds the teeth and heavily pigmented gums remove the standard visual check, so problems tend to be found later here than in a long-muzzled, pink-gummed breed.

Can I really brush a Chow's teeth?

Yes, but it has to be built patiently. This is an independent, reserved breed with a low trainability score, and forcing the issue with an adult Chow is a poor plan. Start with a finger and a taste the dog likes, spend a fortnight just touching the lips, and build from there. Daily is the target; three times a week is worth having.

Do dental chews replace brushing?

No. Some products reduce plaque accumulation modestly, and they are better than nothing, but they do not clean the tight contacts between crowded teeth, which is where a Chow's problems concentrate. Treat them as a supplement, and watch the calories in a breed prone to weight gain.

Are anaesthesia-free dental cleanings a good option?

They scrape visible tartar off the crowns and leave the disease below the gum line untouched, which is where periodontal destruction actually happens. They also cannot include radiographs. They make a mouth look better without treating it, and most veterinary bodies advise against them.

How often does a Chow need a professional dental?

It varies with the individual mouth and how good the home care is. A reasonable approach is a proper oral examination at every routine check-up and a professional scale and assessment when your vet recommends it, rather than on a fixed schedule. Ask specifically whether dental radiographs will be taken.

What about the anaesthetic risk?

It is a genuine consideration in this breed, where airway shape and a heavy coat make recovery the phase to plan around. That is an argument for good home care to reduce how many dentals are needed, and for combining a dental with any other planned procedure - not for avoiding dental treatment, since untreated dental disease is painful and progressive.

Quick answers

View more answers
Health

Why can I not check my Chow's gums for redness?

Because they are usually heavily pigmented. Use texture, smell and bleeding on contact instead of colour.

Health

Where does tartar build up first?

On the outer surfaces of the large upper premolars and molars. Lift the lip on each side and look there.

Living

Is bad breath normal?

No. A strongly offensive smell is a clinical finding, not a characteristic of dogs, and it warrants an examination.

Costs

What does a professional dental cost?

A scale, polish, radiographs and any extractions under anaesthetic is a significant bill, which is a strong argument for daily brushing.

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