Doing a lot of reading and asking a retired vet friend I probably would ever spend the buck for the cleaning. He said it is common that alot of dog will never really need teeth cleaning. And if they do it may be something they really only need ever few years. You can tell by the color and how they look as to weither you might need to something. He also said it is one of those high profit areas for most vets. Unless your dog has problems and needs a cleaning he suggest not doing them at all just clean them at home and use the teeth chews.
I know I never took my other yorkie in. At a average 200 a pop and the problem you can have from it and the fact that her teeth with a weekly cleaning it wasnt worth it to me. She never had a problem with any teeth or bad breath.
Now as for this pooch, he only has bad breath if he has eaten something that is not something he should eat if you know what I mean... ;) I clean his teeth once a month and give him chew sticks and the teeth treats and keep an eye on the teeth. If I would see a problem then I would try cleaning it myself with the brush or maybe then do something about it.
There is nothing funnier than a toothless pooch...

What chew sticks and teeth treats do you use? I give my furbaby Milk Bones but I am not sure if that really cleans his teeth.

I would say once a year. Last year when Gus was 1 the vet said that he didn't need them to be cleaned. The same for his 2nd year check up. I worry about his teeth so I try and keep up on them. I don't brush them every day like I used to (2 or 3 times a week) I was giving him greenies 2 times a week but I am scared of them now.

Yeah, I'd like to know which ones you recommend too.

Either I was misread or I didnt get my info across. ;) I didnt say not to take care of the sweeties we all have, all I was saying was most dogs dont need teeth cleaning that often or at all. A lot of vet use this as a money maker for them. It is easy to see if your dog is having tooth problems. My vet is reasonable and has shown me what to look for. I check the gums and teeth as well as the rest of him often to make sure that my small little guy is look ok. I have heard time after time from friends that have had to pay huge bills for something that could be checked and most of the time not done simple because the vet want the money. NOT all vet but some do this and that is what my problem is. It doesnt cost a vet 400 buck to clean a pooches teeth. OMG!

:aimeeyork As for the chew sticks that were recommended I use these. I also use a good soft brush with doggie paste once a week.
Here is a link for Greenies® Smart Chew(TM) Hard Non-Edible Dental Care Dog Toy for Vigorous Chewers $4.99 http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...eeth&N=2023689
and the Hercules Dental Bones $6.79 http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...eeth&N=2023689
Hope this helps. Sorry for any confusion. :D

Are Pedigree Denta-Bone and Denta-Stix any good for Yorkies or are they too big?

I was just at the Vet today and priced a cleaning and one extraction. $260 bucks!!! Yikes. Gotta save up!
:aimeeyork