After being consumed by your pet, Ascophyllum nodosum works in several ways to improve dental hygiene, due to its natural antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and anti-adhesive properties. Existing plaque is softened and new plaque is prevented from sticking to teeth.

The mechanism of action is still not fully understood, but it is thought that the saliva is affected by the seaweed’s phenols, iodine, phosphates, fucoidans, sulphur, zinc, silicates and sulphates.

For a more detailed answer, please see the journal articles provided on our Resources page.

We do not recommend feeding Ascophyllum nodosum to dogs and cats under six months of age, as the safety of doing so has yet to be determined. We additionally don’t recommend it as they do not need it – their baby teeth are going to fall out anyway!

No. Despite commonly being called a kelp, Ascophyllum nodosum isn’t one. Kelp is a type of seaweed. All kelps are seaweeds, but not all seaweeds are kelp.

Simply Seaweed branded Ascophyllum nodosum is not VOHC approved.

The worldwide Veterinary Oral Health Council (VOHC) has recognised the dental benefits of Ascophyllum nodosum, however, as the application process for a VOHC Seal of Acceptance for a brand/product is complicated and costly, this unfortunately is not achievable for us as a small business.

Caution needs to be taken when feeding multiple kelp or seaweed supplements, to ensure that vitamins and minerals (including heavy metals) are not fed in excess. See our Nutrition Information for the levels in Simply Seaweed.

Some commercially prepared pet food contains kelp or seaweed. The ingredients list of a pet food should display all ingredients in order from most to least by weight. If kelp or seaweed is only present in trace amounts then Simply Seaweed is safe to be fed.

If you are unsure if it is safe to give Simply Seaweed with your pet’s current diet, please consult your veterinarian.

Whilst brushing your pet’s teeth is one of the most effective ways of maintaining their dental hygiene, it is certainly not one of the easiest!

Brushing your pet’s teeth will help Simply Seaweed to take action, however, there are other ways to help remove plaque once it has been softened by our product.

Pet dental care is not a one-size-fits-all approach, nor can any one thing get the job done. See Dental Disease in Dogs and Cats for ways to look after your pet’s teeth, including information regarding tooth brushing.

No. We do not provide samples of our product, as results cannot be seen from a once-off use. However, our product is backed by a satisfaction guarantee. If you are not satisfied with our product, for whatever reason, you can return the product for a full refund.

Yes.

All wild-harvested seaweed and kelp products contain some level of arsenic. There are two different types of arsenic: organic and inorganic. Inorganic toxic arsenic occurs due to ocean contamination, whilst organic non-toxic arsenic is a naturally occurring component of seaweed and many other foods including a wide range of plants, grains, meat and seafood.

Our seaweed is harvested from clean waters to ensure minimal levels of inorganic arsenic and testing conducted to ensure that any detected quantities are within safe limits as per the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ 2002). Additionally, our seaweed is certified organic which enforces even more stringent regulations of allowable trace levels of arsenic.

Our Nutrition Information discloses the levels of arsenic. Declared upper limits are often higher than the expected value due to laboratory testing accuracy limitations.

We are not aware of any testing or clinical trials that have been conducted to determine the impact of freezing Ascophyllum nodosum with regards to the dental and/or nutritional benefits.

Anecdotally, customers that have frozen Simply Seaweed have told us it doesn’t appear to alter the product’s efficacy.

If Simply Seaweed is mixed with wet food prior to freezing, this may result in the product swelling (due to rehydration) and going slimy (due to the alginates). This is normal and to be expected, due to the natural composition of the seaweed.

Yes! However, our product is for animal use only (not for human consumption).