Im afraid Ive always had bigger breeds/dogs and so Ive always been able to use a doggy toothpaste and a soft brus plus lots of bones to keep their teeth healthy.

Not sure how this would work with such a tiny dog but Im sure there will be someone along with some tips soon.

@pharmacysheep  I use the PetzLife, too and it has helped remove tartar. I just saw my veterinarian dentist who said one of the only things that works, in her opinion, is this rinse (photo below).  Isabelle tolerates it.   My vet said to use it at least 1x per week and the PetzLife the rest of the week.  She also said brushing once a day is enough.  2 times a day can irritate their gums and it isn't necessary.  The only way to get rid of the plaque is through a professional dental cleaning, but she said if your dog is older and in good health, she wouldn't necessarily risk a dental cleaning.

I also use calendula tincture in her water which supports dental health.

Hope this helps!

My girl Whisper has no teeth, a throwback to her racing career where healthcare was not top of their list. As for Alfie, he has all his teeth and a daily dose of Plaque Off. He also has his teeth brushed every evening

I've not had much success in brushing my gang's teeth.  It's sure worth it if you can do preventative measures, isn't it?  I'm glad to see the recommendations.  My Keezy has had cleanings with her veterinarian, but has had extractions.  Pompey is four and has good teeth and I'd like to keep them that way.  🙂 

@pharmacysheep I recommend frozen chicken necks.  I've been giving them to my boy every morning since he was 8 weeks old. He is going to be 10 in a few weeks and the vet is always astounded at how white and clean his teeth are.  Last check up the vet said Charlie has the teeth of a much younger dog. I credit the frozen chicken necks.

Thank you for all of the advice RH community! I've been struggling to find a good product/method for my dachshunds. I will be trying some of these!

I was given a product from my vet -- it is suppose to disintegrate the tarter from my dog's teeth when you brush them. We also use chew sticks that are suppose to be good for her teeth. I dont know the brands of these, but these were both recommendations from our vet. I can look into it when I get home. 

I've been using Plaque off for our two Griffs and can attest to its effectiveness.  We've adopted both of these guys in the last 2+ years and I've taken them into get their full dental cleanings twice in that period.  These cleanings require sedation and are quite expensive. 

The first go round both they had pretty severe issues with their teeth.  Woody, the male had a broken tooth and one tooth that had severe root decay.  He was roughly 2 1/2 and that time.  Waggle, the female had really bad plaque and several chipped teeth at 3 1/2 years old.

In less than a year after the cleaning, the vet recommended we have Waggle's teeth cleaned again since her plaque was so bad.  I started using Plaque-off and took her into the vet for her cleaning about 3 months later.  They did a full cleaning under sedation and said that it looked really good.  No major issues, not much plaque, just a routine cleaning.  The same happened for Woody, though he tends not to build up plaque quite as much as Waggle. 

Since their last dental cleanings, I've been brushing their teeth at night before bed.  They both actually love it!  I just went to the pet store to get more doggie toothpaste and they didn't have my "go to" brand by Sentry.  So I looked at the choices and ingredients.  One of them had sodium lauryl sulfate in it!  Nix that!  We are going to try Arm & Hammer (like baking soda company - should be safe, right?) brand that has a beef flavor.  Yummy!  They've been used to chicken flavor, so we'll see what happens. 

What brands have you used and liked?  Do you check the ingredients?  How can they be allowed to put SLS in something a dog would eat?  Trying to pay more attention here, it's just there are so many choices that it's nice to have good recommendations.

Also, when I buy Plaque-off, I buy it from a reputable source like chewy.com.  I've seen it listed for about half the price on some websites, but the label is slightly (yes, ever so slightly) different from the ones I've purchased previously.  Is it me, or does it seem like there's a lot out there to be aware of????  

This is a first!  I've never seen these two refuse to eat, lick or gobble up anything, and I mean ANYTHING.  I won't go into any detail there.  Our new tube of toothpaste is a NO-GO!!!  Both of them wrinkled up their noses and ran away!!  Well, I should have known.  It was beef flavored toothpaste with a fresh mint scent??!!  Who makes up these formulas anyway??

Beef is hard to fake, right?  I mean I've had some of those veggie burgers that supposedly taste like beef, and they are pretty nasty.  Chicken on the other hand is easy, right?  Everything tastes like chicken.

Thankfully, I had a spare mini-tube from the vet that was chicken flavor, un-scented other than the BIG chicken soup smell.  The pups are happy and have clean teeth.  We'll be looking for my old brand Sentry this weekend.

Oh dear.  😉  Beef with mint.  hee hee

Lamb and mint I would understand but beef and mint??? 👎 

@griff-mom i spend a shitton of money at chewy (metric unit) but the toothpaste i bought from them was labeled "made in china."  I pitched a righteous fit because it was not listed on their website as such - and they repeatedly deleted my reviews where i warned other dog parents. If i remember correctly, after that i bought a tube from fosters and smith that gave Brick horrible diarrhea - and thereafter i only buy from my vet.  (which is no guarantee since i go to VCA - who is now owned by Mars and everything they do is following the "big business" model. ugh!!!)

Maybe has surprisingly bad teeth for as much as she chews on bones and antlers (i know, not recommended but it's those or the couch...) and her Dr. pushed me to use Greenies.  Totally not in love with them because they are just loaded with calories, but they might be helping.  

I brush their teeth a couple times a week. They get a greenie every other night and at least 5 nights a week i use a spray from Tru Dog:  https://www.chewy.com/trudog-spray-me-dog-dental-spray-4-oz/dp/105018   On their last visit in April the vet was amazed at the improvement.  She had warned me that Maybe was going to have to have a professional cleaning this year, but that's now off the table. 

I once tried to change their water to the reverse osmosis stuff - it tasted SO bad they would only drink out of the toilet. lol.  so i don't bother trying to do additives...  Maybe drinks her crate water, Brick's crate water..  Brick only drinks from the outside bowl and the toilet...  one would get too much and the other would get nothing at all. 

I must admit none of my dogs have ever had dental issues even Benny my 15 year old beagle who was so grumpy you couldnt get near him with a toothbrush or he would bite your face off...

We finally got to see how good his back teeth were after he passed away.. Perfect.

Murphy and George are on a Barf type diet basically raw and natural. Murphy will only chew his ostrich bone which is like a honey comb. George loves anything and has a lamb fore-leg each week and they both snack on plain dried chicken feet (also high in glucosamine good for joints)

I've heard that raw diets are the best, and no dental problems with that.  Wild dogs and wolves don't have teeth problems, right?  @mad-murphy is so smart to feed this way!  I just can't go there, like she says, it's a barf-type diet.  Raised in suburbia America, we like our conveniences:  meat w/ no bones, skin or fat in plastic packages, kibble for dogs and expensive health care (well, maybe not like the last one).  Sounds crazy as I'm typing this, but it's so true.

@TheOneWithTheThumbs  I've also tried water additives and they give me the stink-eye and go drink out of the pond.  Toilet seats are down in our house as these two both have beards = water everywhere!