I chew on bones, I also eat some raw meats (it's a delicacy in some
places) (my apologies to vegetarians/vegans).  I can personally attest
that bones clean teeth.  I tried an experiment to see.  It is sort of
gross but for experimental purposes I had to make the sacrifice. sigh.

Those of us that eat candy know how certain types leave a gritty feeling
on our teeth.  So for my experiment I skipped brushing my teeth that
morning, making sure I didn't get close to anyone during the day, and I
had to eat candy, lots of candy, and not brush my teeth afterwards.  I
stopped at the local deli for supper and bought a small rib dinner.  I
love rib bones and have been known to eat them completely.  Before I
started my meal I ran my tongue over my teeth and felt the gritty film.
 Yuck.  O.k. I had to resist the urge to brush for the sake of the
experiment....  I first ate my veggies, biscuit, and mashed taters
(they come with the rib meal) and then I plunged into the ribs.  By the
time I finished there was barely enough to toss in the trash, that's
how much I LIKE rib bones.  My front teeth tear and the back teeth
grind the bone to fine particles.

As I'm eating, several ferrets come to see what all the fuss is about,
sniff, shake their heads, look at me like I'm nuts (well, o.k.), then
run off to find something interesting to do.  Not one ferret wanted the
bones or meat I offered and only Xena wanted the biscuit (maybe it was
the 1/2 inch thick layer of butter on it...).

Anyway, back to my experiment.  When I was finished eating I ran my
tongue over my teeth again to see how much grit remained and there was
not one speck left on my teeth, and believe me I searched!

I actually knew what the results would be cause I've had dogs in the
past that got bones weekly to help keep their teeth clean but for the
sake of science I had to do the experiment and I now have documented
personal experience. :-)

I think I'll have a rib meal for lunch today...

tle and her kibble and soup fed loving happy fuzzies
www.ferretfamilyservices.org
Kansas

[Posted in FML 6236]