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I Hated Brushing My Dog’s Teeth, Until I Stumbled Upon a Better Way…
Here’s the thing: I don’t brush my dog’s teeth. I know I should (pet TikTok has made me well aware of how important your dog’s dental health is) because letting plaque and tartar build up is just a recipe for disaster when it comes to periodontal disease, horrible breath… or worse.
Despite knowing this, I just can’t bring myself to consistently stick a toothbrush in my little pup’s slobbery mouth. Someone recommended Greenies® Dental Treats to me once, but my dog didn’t want anything to do with them. So when I started seeing ads for BARK Bright, the first-ever daily toothpaste and dental chew kit for dogs, I was skeptical, to say the least.
I knew about BARK, the self-proclaimed “world’s most dog-centric company,” because my sister uses (and loves) their famous toy subscription, BarkBox. Since expanding into dog dental care, BARK’s Bright Dental Kit was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions in 2019 and one of Fast Company’s World-Changing Ideas in 2020… so it’s not like they don’t have the credentials.
But c’mon. Can I really clean my dog’s teeth just by feeding him a treat? It doesn’t seem feasible. I decided to try it out anyway because his breath is rancid, and I’ll try anything at this point.
BARK Is Taking Over the Dog Care Market
If you’re tapped into the dog-loving side of social media, you’ve more than likely heard about BARK or seen one of their products. Founded by 3 dog-obsessed people (one of whom is still CEO) in 2011, they’ve since expanded to over 400 employees serving over 2 million dogs with 100,000+ 5-star reviews.
Their core mission is to “make dogs as happy as they make us,” which is a sentiment I can get behind. These people clearly love their pups just as much as I love mine, and their Bright Dental Kit harnesses the power of decades of research to support doggy dental health from all angles: abrasion, plaque and tartar buildup, inflammation, bacterial presence, and breath freshness.
Or, at least, that’s what the internet says. It could just be a glorified breath mint.
Here’s Where I Had My Doubts…
The idea behind these dental treats is that as your dog chews, the abrasion from the treat scrubs off the plaque and tartar that have built up on their teeth. I know this hands-free approach to dental health is all the rage in pet care because it solves a major pain point in caring for your pup: brushing their teeth. And I can attest. It sucks.
But when I try to give treats like this to my dog, he usually just sniffs twice and walks away, or just swallows them whole. Which means (you guessed it!) no abrasion, and no teeth cleaning. But BARK has a Durable Dental Kit with tougher chews that supposedly last 3x longer, thanks to proprietary nubs and groove technology—while their one-of-a-kind doggy toothpaste breaks down plaque and tartar.
In theory, this should work for my dog, but he has a history of ripping through “durable” toys like they’re nothing, so I wasn’t very optimistic. Well, there is only one way to find out…
Time to “Brush My Dog’s Teeth” With BARK Bright
The Bright Durable Kit costs $40 as a one-time purchase, $32 if you subscribe for 6 months, and $30 if you subscribe for 12 months. It comes with 15 dog-bone-shaped treats in either a small, medium, or large size depending on the size of your dog (or their chompers). Their standard toothpaste in the kit is made with real chicken (so it’s easy on the digestion), but I saw they just released an allergy-friendly Berry Mint option, too. I went with small-sized treats and the original toothpaste for this little one:
All I had to do was squeeze a line of toothpaste along the pre-formed ridge in the treat and give it to my dog (after a “sit” and “roll-over,” of course). Right off the bat, I was impressed with not just how desperately he wanted to devour the treat, but how difficult it was for him to devour it. AKA, the treat was actually working.
It took him a solid 30 minutes to finish gnawing on this thing. He even tried to come back for another one. I gotta say, the idea of turning my dog’s dental routine into a potent, hands-free, one-two punch that he was dying to eat every day sounded pretty game-changing. So far, so good.
Fresh Breath & Squeaky Clean Teeth In Just a Few Weeks…
It was not hard to stay consistent with the BARK Bright dental routine. My dog was literally begging for me to “brush his teeth” every night (something I can’t say yet about my children). Although I was stunned to see his teeth start to whiten up in just a few days, the real magic kicked in after a few weeks:
Since I started using the Bright Dental Kit consistently with my pup, his breath is fresh for once in his life, his teeth are noticeably cleaner, and I even got a compliment from our vet about how healthy his gums looked and how I’ve been doing such a good job with his dental care. Little does she know how easy it’s been.
But the best part about the whole experience is that I found a way to keep my dog safe, healthy, happy, and stink-free with one daily treat that costs me around $2 a day. I guess for the first time ever, something that sounded too good to be true exceeded my expectations.
BARK Bright Might Be the Best Invention For Dogs… Ever.
No wonder BARK Bright is winning so many awards—it truly is worth the hype. I’m glad I went out on a limb to try it out because being able to prioritize my pup’s safety, cleanliness, and health with basically zero effort has been life-changing for both of us.
Even though I’m now a huge fan of the Durable Dental Kit, Bright also offers a standard version with 30 chews for $35 as a one-time purchase, $28 when you subscribe for 6 months, and $26.25 when you subscribe for 12 months—so if your pup doesn’t turn into Godzilla when he chews as mine does, you can go with that option. BARK also offers free shipping on orders of $30+ and comes with a 100% happiness guarantee, so it can’t hurt to try it out if you’re on the fence like I was.
