We had Darcy's teeth cleaned a couple of years ago and they told me two front teeth were "dead at the root" and were extracted. They also sold me some Xylitol mouth rinse that burned her mouth (mine, too, I tried it) so I tossed that out. I have brushed her teeth nightly since then with a rubber finger cot and doggy toothpaste. We just do it while watching TV at night. Her teeth look fine and she doesn't mind. Basically, I like to use my own gut feeling on some of this stuff that some vets push and others don't.