It usually takes two people to clean my dog's teeth: one to hold him down, and one to clean the teeth. We have found it easier to take him to the vet once a month to get them professionally cleaned. We have also had to pull a few of my dogs teeth. He can still eat just fine and seems to be happy. There are many kinds of treats that claim to clean dogs' teeth better than we can do ourselves. Maybe just do a little research into some other options.

I recommend using raw, edible bones to give your dog as it helps to keep their teeth clean. The best in my opinion is pig's feet. If he is running away, try make it a positive experience, give them a treat after and be patient.
You can also use an antiplaque powder that you add to their food.

While none of my dogs have ever had to have any extractions or been treated for bad teeth or rotting gums, we've always relied on bones to keep the dogs in good health aswell.

Chewing on bones keeps the dogs teeth healthy and plaque free, and its what our vet as recommended. If a dogs teeth are already in poor condition though that may not work, as I think that method is more of a prevention rather than a cure.

Our 8-year old spitz named Tisoy is exhibiting symptoms of gingivitis. He has bad breath that sometimes smells like rotten meat. We are trying to treat it with iodine and a mouth spray for odor. The vet is recommending a thorough cleaning of the plaque. However, I cannot agree because the dog would be anesthesized which would make him sleep so the vet would have a free hand in cleaning the mouth.

What if the dog wouldn't wake up anymore? That's the reason why we are persevering in cleaning our dog's mouth that maybe the gums will heal.

Our 8-year old spitz named Tisoy is exhibiting symptoms of gingivitis. He has bad breath that sometimes smells like rotten meat. We are trying to treat it with iodine and a mouth spray for odor. The vet is recommending a thorough cleaning of the plaque. However, I cannot agree because the dog would be anesthesized which would make him sleep so the vet would have a free hand in cleaning the mouth.

What if the dog wouldn't wake up anymore? That's the reason why we are persevering in cleaning our dog's mouth that maybe the gums will heal.

I wouldn't worry too much regarding your dog being anesthetized as I'm sure that it's something that your vet would have done many many times before.

As with anything regarding our dogs, I'd be tempted to do what the vet recommended, as at the end of the day they're the experts who know best, not us.

We've tried pig bones, as suggested above, but they smell something terrible and always manage to go missing somewhere conspicuous (and continue smelling bad from that secret place).

Does anyone have any opinion on those pro-dental treats? They always seemed like such a scam to me, since they are small and soft enough to be eaten in a couple of minutes, but I'm wondering if there's something to them. It would be so convenient to just have them eat a few treats every day to keep dental issues at bay.

If not the treats, any suggestions for raw bones that don't smell awful?

As mentioned above, i go with the path of using bones to provide healthcare to the dog's teeth. They're efficient, and typically do a pretty good job. Once per year, I get each of their sets of teeth professionally cleaned by a service at our local veterinarian's office, which typically takes care of any cavities.

Oh the whole brushing teeth issue. We have battled with this as a family for as long as I can remember, and I cannot see that changing. My wife is way more worried about our dogs' teeth than I am and she is always wanting to brush, whereas I like to go with the whole healthy food option and those special bones and treats. I figure those things exist so you might as well take advantage of them, and I just never believed that you need to brush a dog's teeth.

I wouldn't worry too much regarding your dog being anesthetized as I'm sure that it's something that your vet would have done many many times before.

As with anything regarding our dogs, I'd be tempted to do what the vet recommended, as at the end of the day they're the experts who know best, not us.

I have to disagree because just recently, a tv actress complained that her dog died when it was anesthesized for teeth cleaning. The dog failed to wake up that's why the actress was grieving. But according to the vet, accidents sometimes happen and they are free from liability since the dog owner had signed a waiver. So we are content with just cleaning the gums of our dog Tisoy than to gamble with his life.

Dogs usually don't take to teeth cleaning unless they are used to it. It's hard to turn a dog onto teeth cleanings. My dogs will not let me clean their teeth and won't cooperate even in a professional setting. If I truly wanted to be adamant about cleaning their teeth, I'd have to take them into the vet and ask that they be put under for a teeth cleaning. It just wasn't worth it to me. They will bite the heck out of me if I even attempt it. Luckily, they are very sweet dogs and would never hurt a fly, but when it comes to their teeth they are killers.

I have to disagree because just recently, a tv actress complained that her dog died when it was anesthesized for teeth cleaning. The dog failed to wake up that's why the actress was grieving. But according to the vet, accidents sometimes happen and they are free from liability since the dog owner had signed a waiver. So we are content with just cleaning the gums of our dog Tisoy than to gamble with his life.

But if your dog needs a major operation then they'll also have to be anesthetized, and while just for teeth cleaning it might not be worth the risk, for an operation you'll have no choice but to take the risk.

There's many different ways to clean a dogs teeth anyway, and even chewing on bones can help the dog to keep its teeth and gums clean and disease free, so while I do agree with what your saying regarding the anaesthetic, if your dog's teeth are that badly damaged then it might be in a lot of pain anyway so what's the best thing to do? Leave the dog in pain, or risk the anaesthetic? It's a hard decision to make.

Only one of my dogs has ever had their teeth cleaned by us, and that wasn't really a necessity in terms of plaque and moreso an effort to combat bad breath. Luckily, she was a very good dog and sat still through the whole thing. Other than that, none of my dogs have really needed teeth cleaning. We tend to give them chew chips and chew bones as well as those hard chewy dentastick things and those seem to do pretty well. We've recently started using deer antlers for them to chew on as well. They're expensive, but they love them and they last a very long time.

Our vet has noted that our border collie has beautiful teeth, especially for her age. She has very little plaque because she likes to play with rocks. She's worn some of her teeth down because of it, but the vet doesn't find it to be a problem. We try to get her to stop but the backyard is completely filled with rocky dirt so no matter how many rocks we get out of there she digs up more. Vet said as long as we're not throwing them for her (which of course we're not because yikes) and she's not trying to eat them that it's fine.

But if your dog needs a major operation then they'll also have to be anesthetized, and while just for teeth cleaning it might not be worth the risk, for an operation you'll have no choice but to take the risk.

There's many different ways to clean a dogs teeth anyway, and even chewing on bones can help the dog to keep its teeth and gums clean and disease free, so while I do agree with what your saying regarding the anaesthetic, if your dog's teeth are that badly damaged then it might be in a lot of pain anyway so what's the best thing to do? Leave the dog in pain, or risk the anaesthetic? It's a hard decision to make.

I'm scared to think of my dog undergoing anesthesia because as I had posted, there were cases where the dog did not wake up. In 2007, when our first dog was suffering from severe kidney problem due to kidney stones, I was urging the vet for a surgery. But Jedi was already 10 years old at that time so the vet was not comfortable with the surgery. When another vet turned down my suggestion of a surgery, the vet explained that Jedi would just be pained and surely I wouldn't want her to suffer more. And the final verdict was to put our dog to sleep. It was really painful for me but I couldn't bear to see the suffering of my dog.

Pardon me for the segue, I just have to let it out so it wouldn't stay in my mind.

We also clean our dogs teeth. My husband is in charge of it. He usually brushes our dogs teeth along when he bathes our dog. It took a month for our dog to be used to it. And now it is a daily routine for them to clean their teeth. They don't pull away and seems like enjoying it too.