I used to have my dog’s teeth cleaned every time she was under sedation for something else. I wouldn’t ever have her sedated to have it done. Of course this meant she rarely got her teeth cleaned.
After talking to my very honest vet he told me that using the periodontal chews “Virbac C.E.T. Enzymatic Oral Hygiene chews” was as effective as the cleaning if used consistently. They aren’t cheap but neither is a vet teeth cleaning…and there is no risk of anesthesia complications.
I gave them to my dogs and had good results. I had even better results with giving the dogs good old fashioned beef neck bones.
All the restrictions against giving dogs bones (mainly due to people feeding cooked bones and or chicken bones which are prone to splintering) has lead to an increase in tartar and gum disease in dogs.
My solution to this was to visit the Asian Market for some spectacular beef neck bones. These bones have a bit of meat on them, and are large enough that the dog must gnaw at them rather than crunching them whole. When the bones begin to get small, I throw them away.
I’ve been doing this for over a year and my dogs teeth have never looked better.
And my dogs have never loved me quite like they love me when I hand them that hunk of fresh meat.