it depends on dog just like it depends on humans as some genetically build up more tartar BUT if your dog has bad breath and tartar build up get the dental done as the earlier the better as my maltese had bad breath and tartar build up at a young age and i tried to combat with petzlife gel and she ended up losing 27 teeth at age 4 as i waited too long and did not get dental for fear of anesthesia - they should start at min at age 3 per dentist we see but yours is showing signs already so i would get in now before periodontal disease gets worse as it cannot be reversed once they have it and they do not have much bone to begin with so any bone loss can cause loss of teeth in toy breeds. I wish i would have done sooner
my yorkie just lost 6 teeth as waited until she was 5 . We are going to do annual exams now and monitor and i brush at least once daily. They have the same teeth as us so they need to be treated the same as we treat our teeth. The only difference is they do not get cavities like we do as they do not eat sugar foods like we do.
I recommend a dentist for teeth cleanings as they are educated in that further than vet and most vets have vet tech do it who are not dvms and bc dentists are dvms who went to school and did interships in dentistry only. The safest way is blood work prior and urine checked as well, propofol, isoflurine over sevo in small breeds, iv fluids and catheterization. Do not cut corners as that is when problems happen. You get what you pay for so if if they say $200 for a dental i would question how they are doing it so cheap
please learn from my mistake
if i had it to do over i would have had mine in at 1 and 2 years old first sign of bad breath and tartar. Bad breath means they have gum disease and bacteria build up under the gum line not digestion which i heard so many times - if no tartar on teeth and mouth looks great and no inflamation then you can think digestion issues