Analysis of the influence of three types of diets on periodontal disease in dogs attended in veterinary clinics in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Abstract

One of the most common diseases in dogs is periodontal disease. The objective of this study was to evaluate the correlation between diet and periodontal disease in dogs. A field, non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional, analytical and qualitative research approach was used. A survey of owners was carried out in addition to a dental evaluation of conscious dogs attending the veterinarian's office over a period of 6 weeks considering certain inclusion and exclusion criteria. The visual diagnosis through the use of a periodontal probe determined that 100 % of the dogs evaluated that had a balanced diet had some degree of periodontal disease, 85.7 % consumed a homemade diet and 88.2 % consumed a mixed diet. However, the results indicated that there was no significant statistical association between diet and periodontal disease. After the survey, the animals are mostly fed mixed diet (42.0 %), followed by balanced diet (40.0 %) and homemade diet (17.5 %). There were dogs in stage 0 (7.5 %), stage 1 (10.0 %), stage 2 (52.5 %), stage 3 (27.5 %) and stage 4 (2.5 %), with an overall prevalence of 92.5 %. No significant statistical association was found between the knowledge of dog owners about the relationship between feeding and periodontal disease.