Milkbones milk bones milk bones!
Also rubber "kong" toys that they chew on to get treats out of.

 

I give mine a raw beef bone once in a while too. Works great to clean up the teeth. Cheap too.

 

My beagle goes in Thursday to get his cleaned. I dont foresee any problems except that he'll be madder than heck with me when he wakes up....

 

Got his teeth done last week Wednesday, they came out really nice-they were really brown before. vet said in small breads(some) the brown stuff could cause health issues. i still got him some milk bones this week and we do brush his teeth every week or so. the anesthesia did knock him threw a loop though for about 30hrs after the procedure which the vet said could be normal.

 

funny, it took mine a day to like us again.

 

Somebody told me to give my current pooch raw carrots to munch on and that would keep her teeth clean. She was just over a year old then and her teeth are clean and white even now after 3 years ..... her gums look good, too. Don't know if ALL dogs like carrots but she will eat as many as I give her it seems.

 

If you're worried about the sedation get bloodwork done first, most vets will ask you if you want the bloodwork run anyway (cost varys greatly from vet to vet and which bloodwork they run.) I have worked for 3 different vets, 2 of which did do dental cleanings for dogs and cats, the animals were always fully under sedation (I wish I was for all my dental work!!) and the animals always woke up and were fine after the cleaning. The vet I work for now offers dental vaccinations for dogs too........I don't know if it will help once the tartar has built up though I think you have to have them cleaned first. One more thing as far as the "drunk" dog from the sedation it depends on what kind of anesthesia is used and how much. Take care and ask the Vet everything you want to before hand, if you're still unsure wait.