Is it necessary?

What do people use?

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I tried and failed miserably. I give my dog raw chicken wings now to clean his teeth. They seem to do the trick

I am failing too! I bough some doogie toothpaste and a finger tip brush and thought it would be easy as Bella has no problem with me putting my hand in her mouth and checking her teeth, but when it comes to cleaning them it isn't happening!
I just try and give her things to chew that will help keep her teeth clean instead.

I don't know about necessary but it has helped my dog. At 7months he already had a light build up of tartar on his back teeth and I started brushing once a day with Beaphar paste. He never liked the dog toothbrushes (quite harsh) so I use a baby's one which is softer but still does the trick! Anyway, long story short with several months of regular brushing the tartar has greatly diminished and almost totally gone on one tooth so I will keep it up.

Yep, I think it's necessary, for the same reasons we use toothpaste!
I use Virbac Enzymatic toothpaste from the vets - the enzymes break down the plaque in the mouth so there's no need for brushing, you can just smear it on a chew or just let them lick it off your finger

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Some days you're the dog: some days you're the lampost

When I feel blue, I start breathing again