Let's just say I bit into my toasted mega sandwich with too much gusto. The abrasive toast scraped against my gums and mildly shredded them. It felt like a cold sore convention was being held in my mouth and I couldn't consume anything hot for over a week. Fortunately my gums are healthy and they recovered quickly, but what if all the food I ate was abrasive against my gums? Before long it would be Denture City.

And to a certain degree this is the fate of most cats on dogs on kibble diets. Their gums are brutalized daily. No wonder periodontal disease is prevalent among cats and dogs, increasing their risk of diabetes, heart disease and other related afflictions.

A healthy dog should have salmon-pink gums. Some dogs have pigment on their gums so you may have to look at the insides of their eyes instead. The colour of the gums or eye lining gives a good indicator of your pets well being. Lift the jowl and look at the gums. If they are not that colour, you may have a problem.

That's why raw diets are so great for your pet's gums - the smooth texture of meat massages and hydrates their gums. It also gives them a better and more satisfying chew which ultimately helps build stronger gums. And while there may be a host of other reasons for feeding your pet a raw diet, healthier gums are reason enough to make this wise choice.