Last updated October 21, 2026
No. Don't brush your dog's teeth with baking soda. A dog can't rinse and spit, so it swallows the paste, and a quarter teaspoon of baking soda holds more sodium than a 33-lb dog needs in a whole day. We found no published study that tested it on dogs' teeth, and it does nothing to tartar that has already hardened.
If you've brushed with it once or twice, that amount is far below what poisons a dog. Switch to a soft brush and a toothpaste made for dogs, the routine we set out in our guide to cleaning your dog's teeth at home.
Your dog swallows whatever you brush with
People spit toothpaste out. Dogs can't, so whatever goes on the brush ends up in the stomach. That's why toothpaste for dogs is made to be swallowed.
Baking soda is sodium bicarbonate, and just over a quarter of its weight is sodium. The USDA food database weighs a level teaspoon at 4.6 g, which works out to about 1,259 mg of sodium.
| Baking soda | Sodium |
|---|---|
| 1/8 teaspoon | about 157 mg |
| 1/4 teaspoon | about 315 mg |
| 1/2 teaspoon | about 629 mg |
| 1 teaspoon | about 1,259 mg |
For scale, the National Research Council sets the daily recommended allowance of sodium for an adult dog of 33 lb, eating 1,000 Calories a day, at 200 mg. That's what the dog needs, not a limit it must stay under. A brushing that uses a quarter teaspoon of baking soda adds more sodium than that dog needs in a whole day.
Baking soda is also mildly alkaline. Dissolved in water it sits at around pH 8.3, and swallowed in quantity it can upset the stomach. Brushing only works if your dog lets you do it most days, and a paste it dislikes works against the habit you're trying to build.
Dogs that shouldn't get extra sodium
Sodium matters most for dogs whose intake the vet is already managing.
For dogs in heart failure from mitral valve disease, the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine guidelines advise a modest cut in sodium, counted from every source, including treats and the food used to hide pills (Keene and colleagues, 2019). A baking soda paste would be one more source. A kidney diet is also set by the vet as part of treatment. If your dog has either condition, ask your vet before adding anything it will swallow every day.
What baking soda does to plaque and tartar
Dental plaque is the soft film of bacteria that builds up on teeth every day. Left in place, it hardens with minerals from saliva into tartar, also called calculus, within about 2 to 12 days. A brush and paste can clear plaque. Nothing you brush on removes tartar once it has set hard.
In human toothpaste, baking soda works as a mild polish. It's softer than enamel and dentin, which is why dental researchers rate it as a low-abrasion ingredient (Hara and Turssi, Journal of the American Dental Association, 2017). No dog study we found has measured what daily scrubbing with it does to teeth.
As a plaque fighter it's unimpressive even in people. In a 2023 trial, 20 adults wore a fitted tray of high-baking-soda toothpaste over one part of the mouth and an ordinary toothpaste over the opposite part, a minute at a time twice a day for three weeks, and didn't brush either part. Plaque built up no less under the baking soda paste (Abrahamsen and colleagues, BMC Oral Health). When we searched the published veterinary research in October 2026, we found no study that tested baking soda on dogs' teeth at all.
Tartar that has hardened, and the plaque and tartar under the gum line, need a professional dental cleaning under general anesthesia. The American Veterinary Medical Association notes that most dental disease sits below the gum line, and the American Veterinary Dental College advises against scraping an awake dog's teeth, because that area can't be cleaned or checked properly that way.
If you've already used it, or your dog ate some
A few brushings with baking soda won't poison a healthy dog. The American College of Veterinary Pharmacists puts the toxic amount at 10 to 20 g per kg of body weight, roughly 2 to 4 teaspoons for every kilogram. For a 33-lb dog, the low end is about 30 teaspoons. Stop using it and move to dog toothpaste.
The real risk is the box. Vomiting is usually the first sign that a dog has swallowed too much. Diarrhea, lethargy, tremors, seizures and trouble breathing can follow, and signs have been reported within 3 hours of eating it. If your dog has eaten more than a lick, call your vet or an animal poison line right away. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center is on (888) 426-4435 and the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661, both open 24 hours. Keep the box in a cabinet your dog can't open.
What to brush with instead
You need a soft toothbrush or a rubber finger brush and a toothpaste made for dogs. Check the label for xylitol, which turns up in some human toothpastes and is dangerous to dogs. Brushing every day is best. In beagle trials, three times a week kept healthy gums healthy, but only daily brushing cleared gingivitis that was already there. Short sessions that end with a treat make the habit easier to build.
If your dog won't accept a brush at all, our guide to cleaning dog teeth without brushing ranks the options that need no handling of the mouth, by the kind of dog they suit.
A seaweed powder is one of those options. Caniclean is ours. You sprinkle it on your dog's food, and it helps reduce plaque and new tartar, but it won't remove tartar that is already hard. The owner of a 15-year-old dog wrote in a verified review on May 27, 2024, "He's not a fan of brushing, so Caniclean has been an amazing find." Seaweed contains iodine, so ask your vet first if your dog has a thyroid condition. The same goes for dogs on a heart or kidney diet, with any supplement, ours included.
See your vet if you notice red or bleeding gums, a loose or broken tooth, brown tartar, or breath that stays bad after a few weeks of daily care. A dog with a sore mouth may bite, so look gently.
Questions owners ask
Can I brush my dog's teeth with baking soda and hydrogen peroxide?
No. Peroxide adds a second problem. When vets gave 3% hydrogen peroxide by mouth to six healthy dogs to make them vomit, all six had visible damage to the stomach lining within 4 hours, most of which had healed by two weeks (Niedzwecki and colleagues, 2017). A brushing uses far less, but it's still swallowed, so leave peroxide out of your dog's mouth.
Is a coconut oil and baking soda toothpaste any safer?
No. The coconut oil may make it taste better, but the sodium from the baking soda stays the same, and neither ingredient has a dental trial in dogs behind it. Coconut oil also adds fat and calories.
Can I use human toothpaste instead?
No. Some human toothpastes contain xylitol, which can drop a dog's blood sugar dangerously and, less often, damage the liver. Human toothpaste is also made to be spat out, which a dog can't do. Use a toothpaste made for dogs.
References
- Abrahamsen S, Koldsland OC, Preus HR. The anti-plaque effect of high concentration sodium bicarbonate dentifrice on plaque formation and gingival inflammation, irrespective to individual polishing technique and plaque quality. BMC Oral Health. 2023;23(1), 281.
- Hara AT, Turssi CP. Baking soda as an abrasive in toothpastes, mechanism of action and safety and effectiveness considerations. J Am Dent Assoc. 2017;148(11S), S27-S33.
- Keene BW, Atkins CE, Bonagura JD, et al. ACVIM consensus guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of myxomatous mitral valve disease in dogs. J Vet Intern Med. 2019;33(3), 1127-1140.
- Lowe C, Anthony J. Pilot study of the effectiveness of a xylitol-based drinking water additive to reduce plaque and calculus accumulation in dogs. Can Vet J. 2020;61(1), 63-68.
- Niedzwecki AH, Book BP, Lewis KM, Estep JS, Hagan J. Effects of oral 3% hydrogen peroxide used as an emetic on the gastroduodenal mucosa of healthy dogs. J Vet Emerg Crit Care. 2017;27(2), 178-184.
- Tromp JA, Jansen J, Pilot T. Gingival health and frequency of tooth brushing in the beagle dog model. J Clin Periodontol. 1986;13(2), 164-168.
- Tromp JA, van Rijn LJ, Jansen J. Experimental gingivitis and frequency of tooth brushing in the beagle dog model. J Clin Periodontol. 1986;13(3), 190-194.
- American College of Veterinary Pharmacists. Pet poison control list, baking soda. https://vetmeds.org/pet-poison-control-list/Baking-Soda
- American Veterinary Dental College. Position statement on companion animal dental scaling without anesthesia. https://avdc.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/AVDC-pos-stmts/Dental_Scaling_Without_Anesthesia.pdf
- American Veterinary Medical Association. Pet dental care. https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/petcare/pet-dental-care
- Merck Veterinary Manual. Xylitol toxicosis in dogs. https://www.merckvetmanual.com/toxicology/food-hazards/xylitol-toxicosis-in-dogs
- National Research Council. Your dog's nutritional needs, a science-based guide for pet owners. National Academies Press, 2006. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/resource/10668/dog_nutrition_final_fix.pdf
- PubChem. Sodium bicarbonate (CID 516892). https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/516892
- US Department of Agriculture. FoodData Central, leavening agents, baking soda (FDC ID 175040). https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/175040/nutrients