A Pekingese has the same forty two adult teeth as a dog four times its size, packed into a jaw that has been shortened dramatically by generations of selection for a flat face. Something has to give, and what gives is spacing. Teeth rotate, overlap, sit sideways, or erupt where there is no room for them, and every one of those irregularities creates a place where food packs in and plaque sits undisturbed. That crowding, not any weakness in the enamel, is the reason flat faced small breeds need more dental attention than their size suggests. The good news is that crowding is predictable, so you know exactly where to look.
What a shortened muzzle does to a tooth line
Selection for brachycephalic head shape compressed the length of the upper jaw without reducing tooth count in the same proportion. The result in many Pekingese is a crowded arcade where teeth press against each other, rotate to fit, or overlap like shingles.
Two consequences follow. First, contact points between teeth become tight and irregular, so chewing no longer clears debris from between them. Second, the gum tissue between crowded teeth is compressed and harder to keep healthy. Neither is a defect you can correct at home. Both are reasons to be systematic about the parts you can control.
Retained baby teeth are the other common finding. When a deciduous tooth does not fall out as the adult erupts, two teeth occupy one socket space, and the gap between them traps debris immediately. Your veterinarian will check for this during puppy visits and will advise whether extraction is warranted.
The crowding hotspots, mapped
Work through that list once a week. It takes under two minutes once you know the order, and it means you are checking the places that fail rather than the places that are easy to see.
Why breath is a more useful signal in this breed
Skin folds around a flat face carry their own odour, which makes owners of brachycephalic dogs slower to attribute a smell to the mouth. Be deliberate about separating the two. Wipe the facial fold, wait, then lift the lip and smell close to the back teeth on each side.
Odour that is clearly stronger on one side points at a localised problem, which is more useful information than a general impression of bad breath. Mention the side when you call the practice.
Brushing a face that has nowhere obvious to grip
The technique that works on a longer muzzle needs adapting. Support the head with one hand under the jaw rather than over the top of the muzzle, which pushes on the airway. Lift the lip with a thumb and work a soft brush or finger brush along the outer surfaces at a shallow angle. You are aiming the bristles at the gum line, not scrubbing the flat of the tooth.
Keep sessions short. Flat faced dogs tire and overheat faster during restraint, and a dog breathing hard should be released immediately. Two shorter sessions across the day beat one long one. Use toothpaste made for dogs only.
Raise the whole plan at your next appointment. A veterinarian who has looked in your dog's mouth can tell you which specific teeth in your specific Pekingese need the closest watch, and that beats any general guidance written for the breed as a whole.
Where a chew helps, and where it does not
Protection+ Brushless Toothpaste is Ark Naturals' astaxanthin containing chew, offered in XS through L sizes, described by the brand as clinically proven to help reduce plaque and tartar and as forming a protective barrier on teeth. For a Pekingese, size selection is the part to get right. A chew sized for a larger dog is harder to work through and lasts longer than a compressed jaw wants to hold it, so pick the band that matches your dog's weight and watch the first few sessions. The full range is in the Ark Naturals dog collection.
What a chew cannot do is reach into the compressed space between two rotated teeth, and it cannot touch anything below the gum line. Those spaces are cleaned during a professional dental under general anesthesia, where the team can probe each surface, take full mouth radiographs, and treat what the radiographs reveal. Home care and that procedure are partners, and in a crowded mouth the procedure tends to be needed on a shorter cycle than in a roomy one. If you want to compare products by an independent standard, the Veterinary Oral Health Council's accepted product list is the register to check, and the Merck Veterinary Manual's mouth disorders chapter describes what crowding leads to if it goes unmanaged.
Signs that need a call today
Facial swelling, particularly below an eye. A tooth that has changed colour or fractured with pink or dark tissue showing. Bleeding from the gums without contact. Pawing at the mouth. Refusing food after eating normally. Any increase in breathing effort, which in a flat faced dog is always urgent and always outranks the dental question.
Frequently asked questions
Does a flat face mean my Pekingese will definitely have dental problems?
Not definitely, but the crowding raises the difficulty of keeping the mouth clean. Consistent daily care and regular professional assessment are what separate a well managed crowded mouth from a neglected one.
My dog has a tooth growing sideways. Does it need removing?
That decision requires an exam and radiographs. A rotated tooth may be perfectly stable, or it may be creating a pocket that will not stay healthy. Your veterinarian is the one who can tell which.
Is anesthesia riskier for a brachycephalic dog?
Airway conformation is a genuine consideration, and veterinary teams plan intubation, monitoring and recovery accordingly. Ask your practice how they manage flat faced patients. The answer should be specific and confident.
Can I skip cleanings if the teeth look clean from the front?
The front teeth are the least informative part of the mouth. Disease concentrates at the back and below the gum line, where you cannot see it, which is exactly why the professional exam exists.
What size chew should a nine pound Pekingese get?
Match the size band on the packaging to your dog's actual weight rather than estimating upward. Oversized chews take longer to work through and are harder for a small crowded jaw to manage comfortably.