Cats | Dental Care

Best Cat Dental Care in Australia: Treats, Paste and Gels

A cat's mouth is where trouble hides in plain sight. By the time the breath turns properly foul or a cat starts dropping kibble, plaque has usually been hardening into tartar under the gumline for months — and the RSPCA puts some level of dental disease in around 70% of cats by three years of age. Daily brushing is the gold standard, but anyone who has tried to brush a cat's teeth knows how that negotiation tends to end. The reassuring part is that daily brushing isn't the only move. Between the gold standard and doing nothing sits a whole spread of easier cat dental care — a dental treat, an enzymatic toothpaste, a water additive or a brush-free gel — and the best one is the one you'll keep up. Here are four worth a place in the cupboard.

Best Overall

4.7

Greenies Feline Dental Cat Treats

VOHC-accepted tartar control
Under 2 calories per treat

Can't reach under the gumline

View Pricing →

Jump to review ↓

Best for Brushing

4.9

Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste

Dual-enzyme, safe to swallow
Poultry flavour cats accept

You still have to brush

View Pricing →

Jump to review ↓

Best Hands-Off Pick

4.0

Arm & Hammer Complete Care Dental Water Additive

No handling — dose the bowl
Suits multi-cat homes

The mildest effect here

View Pricing →

Jump to review ↓

Best Brush-Free Pick

4.3

TropiClean Fresh Breath Oral Care Cat Gel

Brush-free daily habit
Brush-free, finger-applied

Still need to touch the mouth

View Pricing →

Jump to review ↓

By Alex • Updated September 2026 • 🕒 15 min read

How we review →

The four picks here work in different ways, and that's deliberate — dental care only helps if it fits the cat and the routine it has to live in. Below we set out the five things that separate real dental care from a breath-freshening gimmick, line the four up side by side, then work through each so you can match the method to the cat you've.

What to look for in cat dental care

The five details that matter most. Scroll across to read all five.

Fit to the cat

The best method is the one your particular cat will accept without a daily fight. A treat, an additive, a gel and a brush ask very different things of a cat's patience, so start where you've the best odds of keeping it up.

The VOHC seal

The Veterinary Oral Health Council awards its seal to products shown in trials to slow plaque or tartar. It's not on every good product, but where you see it the cleaning claim has passed an independent test.

Clean or just fresh

Fresh breath and real plaque control aren't the same thing. Look for a product that names plaque and tartar on the label, because masking the smell does nothing for the disease building underneath it.

How far it reaches

Feline dental disease starts at the gumline, and brushing is the one method that works that margin directly. Crunchy treats and gels clean the surfaces they contact, so lean on the gentler tools to hold the line and expect a brush to do the deeper work.

The daily habit

Whatever you choose becomes an every-day routine, so weigh how easy it's to keep up against what a year of it costs — the per-unit figures beside each pick are there for that. A method you'll keep up beats a better one you abandon after a fortnight.

At a glance

Our four picks compared — specs, prices, and our one-line take on each.

Rank	Product	Best for	Key feature	Price guide	Check price link
Best Overall	Greenies Feline Dental Cat Treats	Most cats, as an easy daily plaque-control treat	Crunchy VOHC-accepted treat that scrubs tartar as the cat chews.	$$ (277g)	Check price
Best for Brushing	Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste	Owners willing to brush for the deepest clean	Dual-enzyme paste that keeps working after brushing, and safe to swallow.	$$ (70g)	Check price
Best Hands-Off Pick	Arm & Hammer Complete Care Dental Water Additive	Cats that won't tolerate a treat, brush or gel	A water-bowl additive that works with no handling of the cat at all.	$$ (2-pack)	Check price
Best Budget Pick	TropiClean Fresh Breath Oral Care Cat Gel	A low-cost brush-free option for touch-tolerant cats	A gel you smear on the gumline — brush-free, and no technique to learn.	$$ (59ml)	Check price

Our picks in detail

What we love, what to watch for, and who each pick really suits.

Best Overall: Greenies Feline Dental Cat Treats

Bottom line — the daily dental win most cats take without a fight: a VOHC-accepted crunch that scrubs tartar while it eats like a treat.

Greenies are the default cat dental treat for good reason. Each chicken-flavoured piece is built to crunch rather than crumble, so it fractures against the tooth as the cat bites and drags plaque off the surface before it hardens into tartar. It carries the VOHC seal for tartar control — an independent mark of approval most treats never earn — and comes in at under two calories a piece.

The real strength here is adherence: a treat is the one form of dental care a cat will queue up for, which matters far more than a superior method left sitting unused in a drawer. Give the daily serve the pack sets for your cat's weight, ideally after a meal so it's not a free-for-all, and store it sealed against the summer humidity that turns any treat stale. Two real limits: the crunch cleans the chewing surfaces but doesn't do much for the gumline itself, which is where disease starts, and it's still food, so it counts toward the day's calories. Neither is a reason to skip it.

What we love	Areas for improvement
VOHC-accepted for slowing tartar build-up Under two calories a treat Cats accept it like a snack	Crunch can't clean under the gumline Chicken aroma won't suit every cat Still food, so calories count

Best for Brushing: Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Toothpaste

Bottom line — the closest thing to the vet's gold standard at home, if you can win the nightly battle of getting a brush in.

This is the one that gets closest to what a vet would tell you to do. It's an enzymatic paste, so alongside the mechanical scrub of the brush it uses a dual-enzyme system that keeps working on plaque bacteria after you've finished. There are no foaming agents, which means it's safe for a cat to swallow — no rinsing, no spitting, not that a cat would cooperate anyway.

Brushing is the most effective home method there is — the RSPCA puts daily brushing at the top of the list — because it's the one that works the gumline itself, where feline dental disease begins. The catch is entirely practical: a brush left in the drawer cleans nothing, you'll need a soft cat toothbrush or a finger brush to apply it, and building the habit takes patience — start slow, let the cat taste the poultry paste as a treat first, and work up to a few teeth at a time. For an owner prepared to do the groundwork, this is the most effective pick on the list. For everyone else, it's the one most likely to end up unused.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Dual-enzyme action beyond abrasion No foaming agents, safe to swallow Poultry flavour most cats accept	Needs to be near-daily to pay off Needs a separate cat toothbrush Habit takes patience to build

Best Hands-Off Pick: Arm & Hammer Complete Care Dental Water Additive

Bottom line — the pick for the cat you can't handle: dental support that asks nothing more than dosing the water bowl.

For the cat that treats a toothbrush as an act of war and inspects every new treat with suspicion, this is the path of least resistance. You add a measured dose to the water bowl each day and the additive does its work while the cat drinks — no wrestling, no handling, nothing for the cat to refuse. It's aimed at both bad breath and the plaque that causes it.

Water additives are the gentlest tool in the kit, and it's fair to set expectations accordingly — the category has some evidence behind it — a controlled trial in cats found that adding xylitol to drinking water reduced plaque and calculus, though that's a different active to the one here — and no additive can match the physical scrub of a treat or a brush. Where it earns its place is consistency and coverage: it works every time the cat drinks, and it covers a whole multi-cat household from one bowl. Measure the dose properly, refresh it daily, and keep a plain water bowl available too in case a fussy drinker baulks at the change.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Zero handling — just dose the bowl Covers a whole multi-cat household Targets bad breath and plaque	The mildest effect of the four Needs a measured daily top-up Fussy drinkers may notice it

Best Budget Pick: TropiClean Fresh Breath Oral Care Cat Gel

Bottom line — the low-cost middle ground: more contact than an additive, less fuss than a brush. Gums that are already red or sore need a vet first.

The gel sits neatly between the hands-off additive and the full brushing routine, and it's the cheapest of the four to pick up, though per millilitre the water additive works out far cheaper to run. You apply a small amount along the gumline — a fingertip does the job — and it goes to work on the bacteria behind bad breath and plaque, and the gel gives you a gentle way to massage the gum tissue as you go.

It's a fair compromise for a cat that will let you near its mouth but draws a hard line at a brush. Because you're placing the gel directly where plaque gathers, it makes more contact than an additive diluted in a bowl, without the technique and patience a proper brushing habit demands. It won't clean as thoroughly as a brush reaching the gumline, and a cat that hates having its face handled won't make it easy — but as a daily, brush-free habit that costs little to keep up, it holds its own. Ease it in gently and let the cat get used to the touch. If the gums are already red, sore or bleeding, book the vet before you start — that's disease to be treated, not plaque to be managed.

What we love	Areas for improvement
Lowest sticker price of the four Brush-free, applied with a finger Massages the gumline as you apply	You still touch the cat's mouth Milder than a proper brushing Some cats dislike the texture

FAQ

Do I really need to do anything about my cat's teeth?

For most cats, yes. Dental disease is one of the most common health problems in cats, and it's painful long before it's obvious, because cats instinctively hide discomfort just as they mask the ache of feline arthritis. Left alone, plaque hardens into tartar, gums recede, and teeth can be lost or need extracting under anaesthetic. A little home dental care, done daily and started young, is one of the simplest ways to slow all of that down.

What is the single most effective thing I can do at home?

Brushing with an enzymatic toothpaste, without much competition. It's the one home method that physically cleans the gumline itself, where disease begins, and the enzyme action keeps working afterwards. The catch is that many cats won't tolerate it, and a method you can't keep up isn't effective in practice. If brushing is never going to happen in your house, a VOHC-accepted dental treat is the next best thing you'll keep up — consistency beats theory every time. If you go the treat route, measure the serve to your cat's weight from the pack guide, offer it at the same point each day so it becomes routine, and remember it still counts toward the day's food.

What does 'VOHC-accepted' mean?

The Veterinary Oral Health Council is an independent body that reviews trial data and awards a seal to pet dental products proven to slow plaque or tartar. Think of it as an independently tested mark of approval. Plenty of decent products don't carry it, so its absence isn't a red flag — but when you do see the seal on a treat or additive, the cleaning claim has been held to a set standard before it reaches the packaging.

Do water additives and gels work as well as brushing?

Not quite, and it's worth being clear-eyed about that. Brushing works the gumline in a way the gentler options don't. Additives and gels are gentler — there's trial evidence that a water additive can reduce plaque and tartar in cats, but the effect is milder than a physical scrub. Their advantage is that they get used: an additive the cat never notices, or a quick gel smear, will for a lot of households beat a brush that comes out twice a month. Match the tool to the cat you've — and there's no rule against combining them, so a daily additive with a brush whenever the cat allows it's a perfectly reasonable middle path.

How do I know if my cat already has a dental problem?

Watch for breath that's more than just fishy, red or bleeding gums, brown tartar along the tooth line, drooling, pawing at the mouth, or a cat that has gone picky with hard food or started chewing on one side. The AVA notes that oral disease left untreated is painful and can contribute to wider health problems, so existing disease needs a vet — home products prevent build-up, they don't reverse damage already there. If you spot these signs, book a check, because a scale and polish under anaesthetic may be needed before prevention can do its job.

Final thoughts

I brush Pixel's teeth nowhere near as often as I should — and that's exactly why I've come round to thinking the best cat dental care is whatever survives contact with real life. The gold-standard answer is a brush and an enzymatic paste every night. The realistic answer is that most of us need a fallback for the nights it doesn't.

My rule of thumb is to start with one method the cat tolerates without a wrestling match, use it every day, add a second when that one has stuck, and treat it as what keeps plaque in check between annual vet checks — a stopgap, never a cure. A treat, an additive or a gel won't reverse disease that has already set in — that's a job for a vet, and sometimes a scale and polish under anaesthetic. Started early on a young mouth, though, daily and without drama, home dental care is one of the few preventive things you can do for a cat. Whatever you land on, it only works if it happens.

If you're starting from nothing, don't aim for the perfect routine on day one. Pick the lowest-friction option the cat will accept, get a week of consistency behind you, and only then think about stepping up to something that cleans a little deeper. The cat that grudgingly tolerates a daily gel today is a far better bet than the brushing plan you'll have abandoned by Friday — and once the habit is there, trading up is the easy part.