Getting your dog’s teeth cleaned by your vet is important and it’s not just for the benefit of clean teeth. Cleaning is only a small part of a comprehensive oral assessment by a qualified vet. In an ‘awake’ oral exam, the vet can screen only visually. Under anesthesia and using dental tools and radiography, the vet can thoroughly examine each of the dog’s 42 teeth.
Keeping an eye on your dog’s teeth, and even daily brushing, constitute just part of responsible dental care. Regular examinations by a qualified veterinary including dental xrays are necessary for proper dental care to ensure that your dog has no broken or chipped teeth, poor tooth alignment, or has any presence of suspected abscesses at the root of injured teeth, loss of bone or ligament strength due to injury or infection, and to confirm the depth of any periodontal pockets.

You don’t clean a dog’s teeth so the dog will have a sparkling smile and minty-fresh breath. You clean a dog’s teeth for the overall health of the dog. Tartar and plaque build up in a dog’s mouth can lead to receding gums and inflammation. If left unchecked your dog could develop other, conditions such as heart disease. Tooth decay and gum disease can cut your dog’s life short.
If the vet has recommended a dental cleaning it’s because the vet believes your dog needs it to be healthy. Now you have to decide whether your dog’s health is worth the price of the procedure.
If you’re unhappy with the cost you can check other veterinary clinics to see if you can a lower price.

they have dental chew toys and bones if there is excessive build up then yeah i would do it, but afterwards you can use that liquid tartar remover you mentioned and other things like bones and such to keep the plaque away, you can also just take some dog toothepaste and put some on youre finger to rub that on his teethe but normally with persistance a dog will warm up tp the idea of having a toothebrush put in his mouth goodluck

I was wondering if that oral care worked also. I have had one of my dogs teeth cleaned professionally, I hadn’t heard of it when my oldest was growing up and now I am afraid to put him under, he has some other health issues. Meantime I use guaze on my finger to rub there teeth it is easier than brushing and so far my 9,4, are fine.I also feed dent a bones and hard bones un cooked to help with this. I know that bad teeth can lead to a mariad of other health issues..and feeding a soft diet contributes to teeth and gum problems..so bones of some type seem to be a neccessity. Good Luck

The amount of money you quote does not seem extraordinarily high to me. It is about that price in my area. If there is tartar and plaque buildup on the teeth, you risk systemic infections, gum disease, and gum recession. If the alternative works, good for you. If not, why not just go ahead and have the dental work done by the vet, and look after the tartar removal after wards?

I feel the same as the answer above. My vet is always recommending my cat get her teeth cleaned, but that would involve anesthesia. It would cost well over $200. I think the cost you’re asking about is probably reasonable and accurate, but actually doing it, not. But people tend to project human needs onto their animals and the veterinary system feeds off it.

not sure if theres something similiar
but with my cat.. his vet said my cat will need a dental visit due to plaque/tartar build up. his teeth were basically yellow.
Vet told me to try Oral Care from PerscriptionHills or Science Diet. (although these aren’t high quality pet foods) It worked awesome!
My cat now has white teeth and needed no dental visit! $20 a bag is certainly better than hundreds of dollars.
Go to a pet store and see if they have a dental care dry food. Try that first . IF it works..then great, if not you’ll have to spend the money for your pets health

if ur dog hates the tooth brush try using a finger one or get a soft cloth and rub them down. u can make a paste with baking soda and put it on his teeth and using the cloth kind of rub and polish them along with his gums. u can get dog tooth paste at walmart and mix in a liitle soda so it won’t taste so strong.i add the breath and tartar cleaner to my dogs water daily and i have seem a great improvement,u can also get this at walmart or a pet store.buy chews that have the tartar cleaner in them and give ur pooch one every day to help get the teeth looking good.when their teeth get bad and u can see dark roots or red gum lines this is when they need to be treated by ur vet,but for now try theses things and u will save a lot of money.clean his teeth weekly and get the liquid drops for his water and even his breath will smell better. good luck

Unless your dog is a movie start or is having a hard time finding a suitor because of ugly teeth, I’d skip paying off your vet’s yacht.
Like the other person said, I’ve had dogs live to be old that never had their teeth cleaned. Dog lick their…well never mind! But you know, dogs are dogs, not children!
Buy your dog some dog biscuits. Milk Bone is what I always used for my dogs.

I would try the tartar remover first. Also, maybe try harder to clean them yourself. But, if you can afford it, why not have them cleaned?
Just make sure that YOUR teeth are taken care of first. You deserve care that is at least as good as you give your pet!