Purpose: Advances in the pet food industry have resulted in the marketing of diets and treats that claim to reduce tartar accumulation in companion animals. The most common approach for oral benefits is to utilize oversized, or tougher food substrates to clean away oral debris. Recently, an entire line of nutritionally complete dental diets was introduced utilizing polyphosphate mineral sources that claim to achieve dental benefits without changing the diet shape or size. The purpose of this investigation was to measure the clinical benefits derived from feeding a EukanubaŽ Reduced Fat (ERF) diet versus a EukanubaŽ Reduced Fat diet enhanced with a polyphosphate Dental Defense SystemŽ (ERF-DDS).

Methods: Diets tested were prepared on the same manufacturing date to ensure no base ingredient differences existed, and were extruded with the same die for a consistent shape. For oral testing, twenty-eight adult beagles were recruited in a comparative crossover feeding study and stratified into two groups balanced for calculus levels. Diets were randomly assigned to each group. Prior to each test period, all dogs received a prophylaxis to remove supra- and sub- gingival calculus and plaque. Oral exams were conducted after four weeks diet usage. A one-week washout period was utilized between assessment periods.

Results: Testing results showed a 58% reduction in tartar (ERF: 3.05 vs. ERF-DDS: 1.29; p<0.05) and a 9% reduction in plaque (ERF: 9.44 vs. ERF-DDS: 8.60; p<0.05) for the polyphosphate enhanced diet. There were no statistical differences in body weight data, or dietary consumption between groups.

Conclusion: This data confirms that dental benefits can be derived from enhancing a diet with polyphosphates without changing the diet shape, size, or nutritional value.

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