Frenchies are characterized by their shortened and flatter faces. Whilst many people see this as part of their appeal, it can lead to dental problems, as their teeth has to be crowded into a smaller jaw space. This is why it’s so important for owners to regularly brush their Frenchie’s teeth.
However, with the huge amount of choice in the market for dog toothbrushes, it’s easy to buy the wrong type of product that doesn’t suit Frenchies… which is why I’ve put this guide of the best French Bulldog toothbrush products together.
Unlike other websites that will present a long list of various products, I’ve only included two French Bulldog toothbrushes here. You won’t need to look any further, as we’ve used both with our Frenchie Claude over the last 4 years.
The best Frenchie toothbrushes we’ve used
All you need to buy, is laid out below, with reasons why these toothbrushes are such great choices for Frenchie dental care.
1. The best puppy to adult Frenchie toothbrush
We bought one of these packs when Claude was a puppy, and it lasted for the first two years of ownership. The reason it’s a great choice for growing Frenchie puppies is that it comes with a smaller finger brush set ideal for small mouths.
All you do is place the finger brush heads over your fingers, place into your puppy’s mouth, and start brushing.
The larger toothbrushes are fantastic, and one of them has a two-headed design that lets you clean both sides of your Frenchie’s teeth at once. This is ideal if your dog doesn’t like having his teeth cleaned, as it halves the amount of time you need to brush.
All the toothbrushes are ergonomically designed to fit into the nooks and crannies of a Frenchie mouth, and this set will do you as your dog grows older and gets bigger.
2. Best toothbrush for an adult Frenchie
Once we needed to replace the option above, we started looking for something more suitable to an adult Frenchie. We didn’t need to break the bank and opted for a cheap solution that did just what we wanted – click the image below to see the prices.
It’s a double-headed toothbrush that has all the right angles and bends to get into those tough to reach places in your Frenchie’s mouth.
3. Best toothbrush for Frenchies that hate teeth cleaning
You might find it really hard to get your Frenchie to keep still when brushing his teeth. If they suddenly start resisting and moving around, you can hurt them with a traditional shaped toothbrush… this option below is ideal for that.
It’s a silicone finger brush that you can slot over 1 finger, and brush and scrape gently around your Frenchie’s teeth. Because you don’t have to push a handle into their mouth, you can typically get a lot more control over your brushing and hold them stiller whilst getting into the teeth and gums.
This is the best toothbrush for Frenchies that aren’t going to easily stay still whilst you use a normal shaped brush.
You must also have this teeth cleaning chew toy!
As well as using one of the French Bulldog toothbrush options above, my vet recommended that we also use this chew toy below. It’s been fantastic in keeping Claude’s teeth and gums healthy!
It’s a special chew toy that will brush their teeth naturally without you having to. It’s a toothbrush stick that sits on the floor for your Frenchie to chew. It’s non-toxic, durable, and won’t hurt their teeth – read the Amazon reviews.
Whilst your Frenchie chews the toy, the bristles work on the teeth to help remove stubborn tartar and plaque in those hard to reach places.
This is a great way to help keep your Frenchie’s teeth clean, as your dog will enjoy chewing on it whilst benefiting from dental care.
If you don’t like the design of this, and to be honest it does look a bit “strange”, then you might also want to check out this Frenchie toothbrush chew from Arm and Hammer below. Click the image to see how much it costs.
Always use dog-friendly toothpaste!
As well as a decent French Bulldog toothbrush, you will also need the toothpaste. I’ve published a guide to toothpastes previously, but to save you the trouble, the product below is the best.
It’s vitally important that you don’t use human toothpaste as they will contain a toxic ingredient called xylitol that can make dogs very ill.
Frenchie teeth cleaning tips
Once you start regularly cleaning your Frenchie’s teeth with your new toothbrush, there are some things to look out for in their mouth. Vets recommend you start dental care from the puppy age, and then brush teeth daily.
I appreciate that brushing your Frenchie’s teeth everyday might not be practical, but as often as you can will mean you prolong their dental health.
Start by placing your finger gently into your Frenchie’s mouth, spreading some dog-friendly toothpaste onto his gums. Try this a few times, and then introduce the toothbrush instead of your finger – by this time he should be used to it!
Get used to lifting up your Frenchie’s lips so you can check on the health of his gums and teeth on a regular basis. The more you do this, and if started at a young age, the easier it’s going to be as your dog will get used to it.
There are some very obvious signs of dental disease you should check for when teeth brushing, including:
- Plaque and tartar deposits building up on the teeth.
- Discoloration of the gums.
- Discolored teeth.
- Damaged and bleeding gums.
- Foul smelling breath – here’s what it could mean.
- Receding gums and roots of the teeth showing.
- Your Frenchie has lost his appetite.
- Signs of blood in your Frenchie’s food bowl.
Conclusion
Using a good toothbrush and regularly brushing is imperative with Frenchies. As a brachycephalic breed, they can have poorly aligned jaws. This can mean a crowded mouth and teeth that need more attention than most due to dental disease.
The reason?
With a crowded mouth, food can get easily trapped in the back of your Frenchie’s mouth and be very hard to remove, even not flushing away when your dog drinks water.
Please get a good toothbrush and get started with brushing today. Even if you can’t do it once a day, try for at least a weekly brush.
You might also like…
I’ve previously written other guides to Frenchie dental issues which you can browse below: