I don't know why some of your vets push SD. They shouldn't be pushing (forcing, badgering, continuously insisting) any food or drug. If they are, I'd get out if there fast.
Part of their job is to find alternatives or owners with certain beliefs (within reason). I know many vets, none of which push regular dog food of their chosen brand on anybody. In fact, some of them even try to find OTC alternatives to rx diets so that their clients can get it anywhere, they don't have to stock as much, and client saves money.
I appreciate sites like dogfoodadvisor and dogfoodanalysis for their ingredient lists, but those change frequently and are sometimes not updated. I think if somebody sees 1 star rating next to a food, they are automatically going to bypass it. So in that regard, I think the sites do a disservice.
I'm sure very few people here rely exclusively on the dentist which is good. ?that would be kind of like asking a veterinary nutritionist to examine human teeth. I do see a lot of relying on random internet articles even f they were not based on solid studies (or misinterpreted). I'd sooner talk to a nutritionist than try to truly wrap my brain around all of it.