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OraVet vs. Greenies: Which Dental Chew Is Better for Your Dog?

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Published on 04/25/23

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Commerce Photo Composite — The Spruce Pets / Zackary Angeline

It may be a chore, but keeping your dogs' teeth clean is vital to their health, since periodontal disease is the most commonly diagnosed doggy health problem. In addition to regular brushing, dental chews can help maintain your dog's teeth by rubbing away plaque. Two of the most popular are OraVet Hygiene Dental Chews and Greenies Dog Dental Care Chews.

Given to dogs once per day, each of these chews are designed to remove tartar and plaque from your dog's teeth. That helps prevent teeth problems and periodontal disease, which can evolve into kidney and liver disease if left untreated.

After a comprehensive comparison between the two top dental chews, we have good news: either are likely to help improve your dog's oral health. They're both approved by veterinarians, and they've each earned a spot on our list of best dental chews. But if we had to pick just one winner...

Our Winner

OraVet Hygiene Dental Chews

You can't go wrong with either of these—and doing anything to help your dog's teeth is certainly better than nothing—but our favorite is OraVet Hygiene Dental Chew. Those chews include delmopinol, which can protect your dog's teeth from further bacteria accumulation.

Greenies lack delmopinol, but its chews do provide a wider selection of flavors and uses. For you, it might just come down to which one your dog prefers. Ultimately, the better chew will be the one you use.

Versus Highlights

OraVet Hygiene Dental Chews	Greenies Dog Dental Care Chews
Chews come in four sizes, for dogs 3.5 to 50 or more pounds	Chews come in four sizes, for dogs 5–100 pounds
Accepted by the Veterinary Oral Health Council	Accepted by the Veterinary Oral Health Council
Uses delmopinol, a compound that coats dogs' teeth and prevents plaque buildup	Chews are available in packs of 3, 6, 12, 27, 36, 54, and 72
Chew is designed to scrub away plaque and debris from teeth	Toothbrush-style grooves designed to scrape off plaque and tartar
Eliminates bad breath	Chews come in different flavors, including sweet potato, mint, and blueberry flavor
Chews are individually wrapped	Freshens breath

OraVet Hygiene Dental Chews for Medium Dogs

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Who It’s For: Dog owners who want an easy way to help clean their dogs' teeth. OraVet's biggest selling point is its inclusion of delmopinol, which coats a dog's teeth to ideally prevent the buildup of bacteria that, in turn, leads to more plaque and tartar. The product's chewy texture helps remove plaque and tartar from the teeth.

Individually wrapped to ensure freshness, the chews should only be given to dogs once per day. They're accepted by the Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) for tartar removal, and the chews should eliminate bad breath, too.

Price at time of publish: $38

_{Treat sizes available: four, for dogs ranging from 3.5 to 50-plus pounds | Main ingredient: delmopinol | Calories: 80.5 calories per medium chew | Nutrition: 46.41% min protein, 2.55% min fat, 0.69% max crude fiber, 13.98% max moisture}

GREENIES Original Regular Natural Dog Dental Care Chews

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Who It’s For: Dog owners looking for variety in their pups' dental chews. Greenies' chews, with its standard toothbrush-style grooves, are made to scrape off debris that fester on pups' teeth. Your pup may enjoy their standard flavor, but Greenies has several other options for dogs with more eclectic palates.

First, there are the sweet potato- and blueberry-flavored chews, but you can also purchase Greenies' "Fresh" chews, made with natural spearmint to give your dog a pleasant, minty breath. Need to keep your dog's weight in check, the weight-management chews with fewer calories can help.

The VOHC has approved Greenies' products for plaque and tartar removal.

Price at time of publish: $37

_{Treat sizes available: Teenie, petite, regular, large | Main ingredients: Wheat flour, glycerin, wheat gluten, gelatin | Calories: 91 calories per regular original treat | Nutrition: 30% min protein, 5.5% min fat, 8% max crude fiber, 6% max moisture}

Design and Functionality

Winner: OraVet

OraVet gets the edge here for both plaque and tartar removal as well as the bacteria prevention from the delmopinol. That's a lot of peace of mind from just one treat per day.

Again, that's not to say the Greenies chew isn't bad. By most accounts, it's an excellent, vet-recommended option, too. It may even be better if you're trying to manage your dog's weight or improve their stinky breath.

Value

Winner: Greenies

You can get a 36-pack of the Greenies chews for the same (or cheaper) price as the 30-pack OraVet chews. It's minor, sure, but six additional days of chews ain't nothing. That's why Greenies gets the nod here.

As mentioned before, Greenies also offers a wide variety of dental chews while OraVet only provides its one chew in different sizes.

Safety

Winner: Tie

Anytime you introduce a new treat or food to your pup, make sure you keep an eye on their digestion as they make the switch. A minority of online reviewers reported their dogs experiencing vomiting and diarrhea after trying each of the chews, so you want to be aware just in case. (Green poop was another side effect.)

You'll also want to make sure your dogs are eating the right size of chew according to their weight. Make sure they're not biting off too-large pieces either.

Every dog's digestive system is different, so it's always a good idea to check with your veterinarian before switching to a new product.

Austin Cannon is an editor for The Spruce Pets, and he's written and edited hundreds of pet health and behavior articles for nearly three years. His passion for dogs extends back to the eighth grade, when his family adopted a standard poodle named Riley (who loved a good dental treat).

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