The scores
Whimzees Stix Medium Dental Chews: B/76 — Above average. Potato-starch matrix with no wheat, no artificial colors, and no synthetic preservatives.
Greenies Original Regular Dental Treats: C/58 — Average. VOHC Seal of Acceptance for plaque and tartar control offsets a wheat-flour-and-glycerin ingredient panel.
How the ingredients compare
The leading ingredients are the structural difference between these two chews:
Whimzees Stix: Potato Starch, Glycerin, Powdered Cellulose, Lecithin, Dried Yeast, Malt Extract, Sweet Lupin Meal, Alfalfa Extract, Paprika Extract
Greenies Original: Wheat Flour, Glycerin, Wheat Gluten, Gelatin, Powdered Cellulose, Water, Chicken Meal, Natural Poultry Flavor, Lecithin, Dried Apple Pomace
Whimzees runs a 9-ingredient panel built on potato starch (a single-source carbohydrate base) with paprika as the only natural color. Greenies runs a longer panel led by wheat flour and wheat gluten — a double-counted gluten source that bumps protein on the guaranteed-analysis line without adding animal protein. Greenies also includes Fruit Juice Color, Turmeric Color, and Chlorophyll for the green coloring; Whimzees uses paprika extract and accepts whatever earth-tone color it produces. Neither product uses BHA, BHT, or artificial dyes (Red 40, Yellow 5, etc.) — a meaningful upgrade over commodity dental biscuits.
Where Whimzees Stix pulls ahead
Cleaner panel: No wheat, no corn, no soy, no synthetic dyes. The 9-ingredient list is short enough to read without parsing — a marker of formulation discipline that the longer Greenies panel (with multiple vitamin sub-lists) does not match.
Lower-allergen base: Wheat is one of the most commonly reported food sensitivities in dogs per veterinary dermatology references (Mueller 2016, Veterinary Dermatology). Potato starch sidesteps that risk entirely. Dogs with diagnosed wheat sensitivities should avoid Greenies regardless of the dental benefit.
Calorie similarity: Whimzees Stix Medium runs 87 kcal per stick; Greenies Original Regular runs 91 kcal per chew. Treat calorie load is comparable, so the score gap is purely about panel quality. Both should stay under 10% of daily calories per AAFCO supplemental-feeding guidance. Shop Whimzees Stix on Amazon →
Where Greenies holds its own
VOHC verification: Greenies Original Regular carries a Veterinary Oral Health Council Seal of Acceptance for mechanical plaque and tartar control. The VOHC seal requires manufacturer-submitted clinical-trial evidence reviewed against published efficacy thresholds. Whimzees does not carry the seal — the dental claim is structural (chew-time scrubbing) rather than VOHC-verified. For dogs with active periodontal disease or vet-flagged tartar, that verified efficacy is the reason to choose the lower-scoring option.
Named animal protein: Greenies includes chicken meal in position seven and natural poultry flavor in position eight. It is not a high-protein treat — the wheat-and-gluten panel still leads — but there is a named animal source. Whimzees has zero animal ingredients; the panel is 100% plant-and-yeast.
Distribution and size range: Greenies is available in size tiers from Teenie (2-7 lb dogs) up through Jumbo (over 100 lb), at most pet specialty retailers and grocery chains. Whimzees Stix runs Small / Medium / Large with narrower retail penetration. Shop Greenies on Amazon →
The bottom line
Whimzees Stix is the better daily chew on ingredient quality — B/76 to C/58 is a real gap, and the cleaner panel matters more for everyday feeding than dental marketing claims do. But Greenies has the only VOHC-verified mechanical-efficacy claim of the two, and that verification is the right reason to choose it if dental health is the actual concern (not a chew-time outlet). For dogs with no tartar issues, pick Whimzees. For dogs with vet-flagged dental disease, pick Greenies despite the lower score — or pair a Whimzees-class chew with a verified dental product (water additive, dental rinse) for a both-and approach.
Read our full reviews of Whimzees Stix and Greenies Original for the complete ingredient-by-ingredient breakdown.