8 Best Cat Toothpaste to Try This 2024! Can You Use a Human Toothpaste for Cats?

Promoting your cat’s dental health is important to prevent multiple health issues as he gets older.

You can do this by introducing your cat to a dental hygiene routine as soon as his adult teeth grow, and by ensuring that he only uses the safest and the best cat toothpaste in the market.

However, as pet parents, you are pretty much aware of how difficult it can be to choose a product that will work best for your feline companion.

And that’s why we’ve made this list because just like you, we only want the best for your furry friend. As the song says, “We’re all on this together.”

Why Should You Brush Your Cat’s Teeth?

Diseases of the teeth and gums are some of the most common feline health problems affecting approximately 70% of cats age three years old and above. However, this doesn’t mean that younger cats are protected from these problems.

Periodontal disease in cats starts with gingivitis, or inflammation of the gums that is caused by plaque and tartar buildup due to poor oral hygiene.

And that’s why brushing your cat’s teeth daily is crucial because this can help remove plaque, which can ultimately prevent tartar formation, tooth decay, and gum disease.

When left untreated, your cat’s periodontal disease can be painful and it can result in infection and tooth loss. These uncomfortable complications can decrease your cat’s appetite, and can negatively affect his overall health and quality of life.

Hence, before you even reach the stage when you have to handle and treat your cat’s dental disease, it’s best to prevent it from happening by regularly brushing your cat’s teeth and gums using products that are proven safe and effective in promoting dental health.

When and How Often Should You Brush Your Pet’s Teeth?

As mentioned earlier, it’s best to start brushing your cats teeth when he is still a kitten; preferably when his adult teeth have grown already, which usually happens when he is around 6 or 7 months old. At this age, your kitten is no longer teething, so, you are already dealing with his permanent teeth.

You have to take good care of his dental health, because if your cat loses one of his thirty permanent teeth, then, that’s it.

Once he loses one tooth, then, he is forever down to 29 teeth, unless, of course, more teeth will fall out eventually due to poor oral hygiene (which is very much possible).

And yes, having your cat teeth brushed daily is not easy. That’s why, it’s advisable to start him young, so he can get used to it as soon as possible. And once he does, it will relatively be easy.

If you have an older cat, it might take a while before he gets used to teeth brushing, but, your time and effort will all be worth it.

Initially, you can brush his teeth once a week, and eventually increase it to three times a week until he gets used to it and won’t budge that much when you brush his teeth every day.  

Best Cat Toothpaste Reviews

1. Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste Poultry Flavor
2. Petsmile Professional Pet Toothpaste
3. Sentry Petrodex Veterinary Strength Malt Toothpaste
4. Oxyfresh Soothing Dog & Cat Gel
5. Vetoquinol Enzymatic Cat Toothpaste Poultry Flavor
6. Bluestem Oral Care Dog and Cat Toothbrush & Toothpaste
7. Oratene Brushless Enzymatic Oral Health Care Dental Gel
8. Nylabone Advanced Oral Cat Care
9. Greenies Feline Catnip Flavor

1. Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste Poultry Flavor

This enzymatic cat toothpaste is a consistent bestseller with thousands of positive reviews both on Chewy and Amazon, and we’re not surprised.

Given the credibility of the company and its 25-year history in producing the highest-quality products in various areas of pet health, including cat dental health, there’s no doubt why it’s trusted by veterinarians and pet owners across the globe.

So, if you are looking for a toothpaste that is specially formulated to be safe, effective, and appealing to your cat, Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste is the cat toothpaste that you need.

It also comes in five different flavors. In case your cat decides that he’s had too much poultry in his cat food already, then, you can choose among the other four flavors: vanilla-mint, seafood, beef, and malt.

Additionally, this toothpaste contains the C.E.T. Dual Enzyme system, which makes it more abrasive in cleaning your cat’s teeth and more efficient in preventing the formation of plaque than other regular cat toothpastes.

It’s also perfectly safe for your cat as he can swallow it because it doesn’t contain toxic ingredients, such as foaming agents or fluoride.   

Overall, it can be your best partner in keeping your cat’s teeth and gum health in prime condition all the time while ensuring that his breath stays fresh all day every day.

2. Petsmile Professional Pet Toothpaste

Petsmile Professional Pet Toothpaste is one of the few dental products that earned the VOHC’s seal of approval for the prevention of plaque.

This proprietary formula contains the potent ingredient Calprox, which has been proven to dissolve the protein film on the surface of the teeth to which bacteria, plaque, and stains adhere, and ultimately whiten teeth and prevent plaque and tartar buildup.

With its active ingredient, this cat toothpaste makes it possible to break down and remove plaque without having to scrub or brush your cat’s teeth.

You simply have to smear or swab the paste into your cat’s mouth, and just let his tongue do the rest. You can also easily apply the toothpaste using the reusable applicator for regular use that comes with the package.

This toothpaste is also made in the USA using human-grade ingredients and is free of BPAs, silica, sulfates, and parabens.

It’s also hypoallergenic, gluten-free, and vegan, and it contains calcium, magnesium, and phosphates that all help to re-mineralize the enamel of your cat’s teeth.

Your picky cat would also enjoy the taste of Petsmile Professional Pet Toothpaste, as it comes in three tasty flavors that cats love: Natural London Broil, Rotisserie Chicken, and Say Cheese.

3. Sentry Petrodex Veterinary Strength Malt Toothpaste

A cheaper price tag doesn’t always mean that a product is less safe and effective, and that is what Sentry Petrodex Enzymatic Toothpaste has proven with its roster of satisfied pet owners.

This cat toothpaste cleans teeth, freshens breath, prevents and removes plaque and tartar with its veterinary strength formula that contains hydrogen peroxide producing enzymes.

With only a few ingredients, and without foaming agents, Sentry Petrodex Cat Toothpaste is perfectly safe for cats to swallow. Cats also love the malt flavor, so they won’t mind swallowing it.

It’s also easy to use since you don’t have to bother yourself about brushing it to your cat’s teeth and rinsing his mouth.

You can simply swab it in, or if you want, you can also use the small head toothbrush for adult cats, or the finger toothbrush for kittens that all come inside the dental kit.

4. Oxyfresh Soothing Dog & Cat Gel

If you are looking for an odorless and tasteless dental gel, and your cat hates having his teeth brushed, then Oxyfresh Dental Gel is perfect for your picky cat.

You just have to apply the gel directly to your cat’s gumline using a finger brush or a toothbrush. So, being consistent with your cat’s dental hygiene routine won’t be that difficult already, especially if your cat gets used to it.

Oxyfresh Dental Gel uses a proprietary formula that contains Oxygene to help clean and promote healthy teeth, remove plaque buildup, eliminate bad breath, and fight gum disease.

This toothpaste also uses minimal, natural, and non-toxic ingredients, such as aloe vera and chamomile extract to soothe gums and help with minor dental cuts and abrasions.

5. Vetoquinol Enzymatic Cat Toothpaste Poultry Flavor

Vetoquinol Enzadent Enzymatic Cat Toothpaste uses a triple enzyme system that makes it efficient in polishing and removing plaque from your cat’s teeth without using a toothbrush. It also doesn’t foam and is perfectly safe for cats to swallow.

This toothpaste is formulated to improve your cat’s overall health, including keeping his breath fresh all the time, cleaning his teeth, and preventing the formation of plaque and tartar.

It’s gentle enough to soothe even inflamed gums, yet with its enzyme formulation, it is also abrasive enough to clean your cat’s teeth and prevent tartar buildup.

6. Bluestem Oral Care Dog and Cat Toothbrush & Toothpaste

Brushing is the gold standard in cat dental care, and you can ensure that your feline is getting the best oral hygiene by using Blue Stem Cat Toothpaste and a dual head toothbrush.

The angled heads and medium-soft bristles of the brushes are specially designed to ensure efficient brushing no matter how small or big your cat is.

This toothpaste uses a unique formulation featuring the company’s special coactive+ technology, which breaks down the biofilm on your cat’s teeth where harmful bacteria can easily adhere.

Consequently, this helps fight plaque formation, reduce tartar, and eliminate bad breath. And as a bonus, this toothpaste also comes in a tasty chicken flavor your cat will surely purr over.

Bluestem Oral Care Toothpaste for cats and dogs is also made using food-grade ingredients, which makes it safe for daily use and for your furry buddies to swallow.

7. Oratene Brushless Enzymatic Oral Health Care Dental Gel

If you’re looking for a toothpaste formula that is gentle, yet also abrasive enough to clean your cat’s teeth, while also soothing his gentle gums, you’d better give Oratene Brushless Enzymatic Dental Gel a try.

This clear gel uses a formula that provides maximum enzyme contact to prevent the proliferation of odor-causing bacteria and break down the plaque biofilm in your cat’s teeth.

It is also gentle enough to soothe inflamed muscle tissues, and promote gum health. And it’s the number one choice of veterinarians in fighting dry mouth caused by medications, chronic illness, cancer, old age, anxiety, and diabetes.

Oratene Dental Gel also helps restore the natural protective ability of your cat’s saliva, and it’s so easy to use since you can simply apply it in your cat’s gum line without using a brush.

It is also free from harmful ingredients, such as xylitol, alcohol, or foaming agents, so it’s perfectly safe for your cat to swallow.

8. Nylabone Advanced Oral Cat Care

This veterinarian-recommended cat toothpaste is specially formulated with Denta-CTM, a blend of ingredients scientifically proven to reduce plaque that harbors bacteria.

The kit also contains a finger brush and an angled toothbrush specially designed to remove all areas inside your cat’s mouth and to remove food debris and plaques that cause tartar buildup, bad breath, and other dental issues.

Bonus Product:

Greenies Feline Dental Treats Catnip Flavor

Your cat is just one dental treat away from getting used to his new dental hygiene routine – thanks to Greenies Feline Dental Trips Catnip Flavor.

Each bite gives your cat triple satisfaction from getting a treat, enjoying the catnip flavor, and having his precious whites healthy and strong every day.

These treats are also VOHC-accepted in reducing tartar, and they are fortified with added vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients, such as iron, vitamin A, vitamin B12, calcium carbonate, taurine, niacin, and a lot more.

Hence, every crunchy bite of Greenies Feline Dental Treats is nutritionally complete and could pass as a balanced snack for your feline buddy.

What’s more, each treat only contains less than 2 calories, and it doesn’t contain artificial flavors or preservatives that can be harmful to cats.

To provide your cat the best outcomes from these treats, the company recommends that you give your 10-lb cat 8 treats twice a day.

To prevent your cat from gaining weight, you might have to adjust the amount of food that he eats every day, or you can simply follow the 90/10 rule when giving treats. That is, only 10% of your cat’s daily calorie intake should be taken from cat treats.

So, if you are looking for an easy way to keep your cat’s teeth healthy and his breath smelling fresh all day, simply let him enjoy these tasty dental treats that come in three irresistibly tasty flavors: tuna, salmon, and oven-roasted chicken.

How Can You Spot a Safe and Effective High Quality Cat Toothpaste?

By now, you might be thinking if only a cat toothpaste could taste like chicken, beef, or fish, then, it would be way easier to keep your cat’s teeth and gums healthy.

And the good news is that there are indeed enzymatic cat toothpastes, and gels that taste like cat treats, which only shows that manufacturers are indeed pet advocates, too.

This being said, depending on your cat’s preference, a flavored or unflavored cat dental care product is also one of the factors that you have to consider. At the end of the day, a good cat toothpaste is one that works well with your cat.

No matter how effective a product is, if it fails from the start, then, you can’t move forward. Because whether you like it or not, if your cat won’t approve it, then, your time, money, and effort will just go to waste sooner or later.

As expected, a good cat toothpaste should improve your cat’s oral health, eliminate bad breath, prevent harmful bacteria from causing gum inflammation and other dental problems, and be completely safe for your feline companions.   

Most toothpaste passes all the requirements except for the last one. And that’s why, as cat owners, we should make it a habit to read the label and learn about what ingredients are safe and toxic for cats.

Generally, enzymatic toothpastes are safe for cats. And they also come in flavors that would make cats purr from excitement every teeth brushing time.

Besides enzymatic ingredients, you can also expect to see terms such as the following, which are all safe for cats:

• Sodium phosphate – prevents plaque formation and plaque buildup
• Dicalcium phosphate – made from calcium; protects a cat’s teeth
• Sorbitol – a controversial ingredient that gives toothpaste its sweet flavor; it can cause digestive issues in large quantities
• Silica – an abrasive that helps clean teeth
• Glycerin – binding ingredient
• Xantham gum – thickening ingredient
• Titanium dioxide – used as white coloring

Additionally, it’s also advisable to look for a VOHC seal of acceptance. The Veterinary Oral Health Council is a division of the American Veterinary Dental College that conducts third-party assessments of dental products for pets.

However, not being VOHC-approved doesn’t necessarily mean that a dental product is not effective as advertised. Some companies can’t just afford to conduct studies required by the VOCH, and getting a VOHC seal of acceptance is also voluntary.

Finally, you should also consider a product’s ease of use. There are dental toothpastes and gels that you would only have to smear on your cat’s teeth and gumline. Hence, you won’t have to stress your cat from the uncomfortable experience of having his teeth brushed.

However, if your cat already has plaque and tartar buildup, it’s best to use a toothpaste with a toothbrush or a finger brush to make sure that you are brushing off the harmful bacteria out of your cat’s mouth.

FAQs

What Is a Cat Toothpaste?

Just like toothpastes for humans, a cat toothpaste contains ingredients that help prevent and remove the presence of plaque and tartar in a cat’s teeth. This, consequently, lead to healthier teeth and gums, and fresher breath.

However, unlike human toothpastes, which contain foaming agents such as fluoride, cat toothpastes use other ingredients so they can be safely swallowed by cats. This is important, since unlike humans, cats can’t spit.

Cat toothpastes are specially formulated for felines, and they contain ingredients that are abrasive enough to remove plaque, yet also gentle to soothe their gums and inflamed mouth tissue.

Some cat toothpastes and dental gels can also be used by simply smearing into a cat’s gumline, thereby, eliminating one of the most common reasons why pet parents fail to provide their cats regular dental hygiene – the difficulty of brushing their cat’s teeth using a toothbrush.

What Are the Types of Cat Toothpaste?

As mentioned earlier, brushing is the gold standard to keeping your cat’s teeth and gums strong and healthy.

However, we all know that it is far easier said than done, especially if you haven’t introduced dental hygiene to your cat when he was still a kitten.

Hence, considering this, it’s simply logical that a cat toothpaste should contain ingredients that will be able to prevent plaques, and remove tartar buildup without too much brushing, or even without brushing at all.

Moreover, just like humans, some cats also have more sensitive teeth and gums than other cats. So, they need a cat toothpaste with natural ingredients, or with a gentler formulation without compromising its effectiveness in reducing plaques, preventing tartar buildup, and eliminating bad breath.

Hence, when shopping for cat toothpastes, as a cat parent, you can choose between an enzymatic toothpaste or an alternative cat toothpaste.

Of course, you can ask your vet’s recommendation, especially if your cat is already experiencing some dental issues that need to be treated right away.

An enzymatic cat toothpaste uses a special enzyme formulation that makes it abrasive enough to remove plaque and prevent tartar even without the help of a toothbrush.

While an alternative cat toothpaste contains natural, gentle ingredients, that are great for cats with gum and teeth sensitivities.

Unlike enzymatic cat toothpastes, alternative cat toothpastes don’t have enzymes, so, you would need to use a toothbrush for it to be effective in cleaning your cat’s mouth.

Nonetheless, whether you are using an enzymatic or alternative cat toothpaste, it’s best to use a toothbrush if your cat’s teeth already have significant plaque and tartar buildup.

Can I Use a Human Toothpaste for Cats?

Human toothpaste is great for keeping plaque and tartar at bay, yet, as its name suggests, it should only be used to whom it is intended. So, no, cats cannot use a human toothpaste because it contains fluoride, which is toxic for them.

Most human toothpastes also have large quantities of fluoride, which is just fine for us and we can also easily spit out the toothpaste.

Additionally, human toothpastes also contain other ingredients that can be toxic to cats, so, it’s best to simply stick to toothpastes and/or dental gels that are specially formulated for your feline companion.

What Should I Do If My Cat Swallows Toothpaste?

If you are using cat toothpaste, then, you have nothing to worry about since most, if not all cat toothpastes (and certainly all on our list), are formulated to be safely swallowed by cats.

In fact, some pet owners, even use a toothpaste as a reward after brushing their cat’s teeth. And this is likely to happen with any feline since most cat toothpastes come in flavors that cats can’t resist.

DIY Cat Toothpaste Recipes

For fur-rents out there that prefer to make their own products for their beloved pet, check out the recipes we have compiled for you below. All recipes are from Christy True of Healthy Paws Pet Insurance & Foundation.