Should I have my dog's teeth cleaned by the vet

I have had my rescue staffiex for 31/2 years now and I love her dearly. Within the last year I have noticed her molars are black at the base,it is hard plaque and I can't scrape it off.
The vet says just leave it until there is a problem, then we will deal with it. Her breath is fine, she is not fed any food that would cause it -- she is fed 1/2 kibble ,1/2 Nature diet occasional raw chicken wings etc.
I am happy to pay for the treatment,what do you all think?, it seems odd to me to wait until there is a problem, I don't want her to have toothache, or worse.
Thanks in advance

I would not wait until there is a problem as dogs are very stoic and it takes a lot for them to show that they are in pain.

With my Little One, who was born with a predisposition to bad teeth [dog mother not fed properly and having too many litters being an outside mutt and having no milk for her pups after about three weeks] I brushed her teeth every other day.

Unfortunately they got worse and worse - she had her teeth cleaned under a GA to remove the plaque, but even though I carried on brushing her teeth she lost the top front teeth and her breath started getting pongy, so after blood tests, Xrays, ultrasounds of her heart etc [to make sure she could cope with another GA] she had a further ten teeth removed.

Each one looked "fairly" normal but as they were being cleaned it was obvious that under the gum line there was rot - hence the removal of the other ten teeth.

As I had sat with her while my Vet was doing the surgery [leaving the vet nurse to do other things while I kept an eye on the monitors] he showed me each tooth as he removed it.

He did not just extract, ie "pull" out each tooth, but cleaned at gum level and below to see what what hidden.

So she ended up her happy life minus 14 teeth, but still chombled away happily on her kibble.

Pereg is raw fed. Her teeth are as white as they can be and I have never seen any plaque on them. My Vet also checks them when she goes for her regular six-monthly check-ups and blood tests.

So - I guess my advice is to get your dog's teeth cleaned properly before she has a problem. A simple scape/clean/polish under a GA does not take long and is, IMO, worth doing well before any problems show up.

I would try alternatives for now, there are a number of products on the market to help soften the plaque.."plaque off " being on of them. you could also try some uncooked bones , these will help her to naturally clean the teeth...

Good advice above.Lacey gets her teeth cleaned by the groomer when needed,she's used to it now and never had any problems with her teeth.Understandably not all dogs would sit there calmly while they are having a descale and polish but just thought I'd put it out there

You could always try Logic toothpaste or homeopathic remedy strawberry fragaria.

I think you need to be feeding bones, raw carrots etc besides the odd chicken wing, what you are feeding is what is causing it, soft mushy food in a carnivore that has teeth designed for crunching, ripping and chewing

Great advise above.
Only thing I would add is get a new Vet asap.

Any Vet that ever told me, not to worry until it is a problem, when clearly there will be one if the matter is not addressed, would no longer be my Vet.

have you tried giving her dental chews? they are a great treat and keep my pup occupied for a while, and are supposed to help clean the plaque off their teeth. I also give my dog raw carrots, which she loves to chew on and I'm sure have the same positive effect. Another thing, I used to not allow my dog to chew on sticks she finds in the woods, but apparently those are good for cleaning her teeth too.

dental chews are by no means a treatment or going to clean your dog's teeth completely, but it could be a small helpful habit to get into

Many thanks for your replies, I am feeling that I would like to feed raw but am very nervous about it. One thing that concerns me is that it would seem it's not good to mix raw and kibble -- does this mean I can't feed kibble mixed with Nature Diet [as suggested by the rescue] in the morning and part of a chicken carcase in the evening? for her teeth, also we go away in our motorhome quite often and I am not sure how to manage raw, would it be a problem to go back to her current food at those times?
She does have dental chews and carrots.

Dental chews are totally useless and just another way of getting owners to part with their money. A bone is as good if not better than these things, and the bone doesn't contain cheap rubbish put in as bulk. I would imagine when you go away you go where there are shops that sell food like meat, so your dog can continue to be fed raw when you are away the same as at home. Tinned fish is a good standby