Good luck with the vet visit!
I just want to add our experience on the tarter issue - we have none!
And we don't brush! We just had her annual check up last month and the vet was amazed.
My Bailey is 2.5 years old; she had a few baby teeth extracted when she was spayed at 7 mos. I feed Bailey a homemade raw diet with lien hamburger, eggs, rice, cottage cheese, etc. I contribute her no-tarter and no-bad breath to her diet.
This diet was created by my mom who has extensive knowledge in dog nutrition. True Story: once, my mom took in a rescue who had heartworm and needed a dental really bad. They couldn't do the dental due to the heartworm treatment. However, after several weeks on this diet, his mouth healed and it was determined that a dental was no longer necessary! Even mom was amazed with the quick results from this raw recipe.
If you're interested in the recipe, I'd be glad to post it or pm you. Its all human grade ingredients you can purchase from the grocery store (with the exception of a few supplements - i.e bone meal and potassium) I don't want to portray this a the "miracle food" - but as far as teeth are concerned, we swear by it!!