Removing tartar using a dental scaler?

My 8 year old Greyhound has built up quite a bit of tartar on his back teeth and I was wondering whether any Dogsey people had used a dental scaler and if they had any advice for me.

I have given my dog Plaque Off every day since he was three, and recently had run out and forgot to get some more. I really want to get Bo's teeth into good shape, but he is a nervous sensitive animal as well as being a Greyhound, and for those reasons ( to say nothing of cost - my vet charges over £200 for a dental) I don't want him to have to undergo an anaesthetic and the accompanying stress.

I have sent for a dental scaler from Amazon http://tinyurl.com/87c7blm
and seen vids of how to de-scale a dog's teeth. Bo lets me rummage inside his mouth and when his teeth are clear I shall be using a toothbrush on him, as I know I should have done previously ....

Any ideas on how to loosen/soften the tartar, and set up a good dental hygiene regime for my beautiful Grey?

I'd just chuck him a bone to chew on...

unless u have a polisher for after, manual dental scaling is bad news!! ...it will make the teeth worse in the long run.

Why's that Layla? I have one that I used on Loki's teeth (he had kidney disease so often had yucky teeth!)

because its the same as our teeth..the scaling scratches the surface leaving it a bigger breeding ground for plaque and tartar.

doh! Pretty obvious really!!!!!!

To the OP - have you seen the ads for Petzlife? It's very good stuff and requires no brushing and polishing.

i use a descaler. never had a problem! although dogs teeth aren't that bad tbo

I'm a qualified dental hygienist, albeit for humans rather than dogs, and the above is absolutely right. If you don't remove all the calculus ( tartar ) and leave some rough bits behind it just leaves more of an area for the plaque to accumulate and calcify.

The dental scaler that you've ordered looks pretty horrific if I'm honest. Scalers tend to be shaped for each different tooth surface/ area, so there's no guarantee that that's the right shape for the teeth that you want to scale.

You can do a fair bit of damage to a human patient if they flinch unexpectedly and the instrument slips, and they know that they ought to be keeping as still as possible. Not only that, if it slips and cuts into you, that's a lot of nasty bacteria that's going to get into your bloodstream. I'd leave it to the vet unless you're absolutely certain that you can scale effectively and without causing physical trauma to either you or your dog.

Personally I would shop around different vets for the best price and then get them done properly to give you a good basis to start the brushing.
I certainly would not be trying to do it yourself.

You may be surprised at the difference! When we got Izzy her previous owners kindly said they would pay for her teeth to be descaled and a fatty lump removed from her back. I got a quote from my vets and they got one from theirs. My vets gave me an estimate of £540 and theirs cost £280! They did a very good job too-her teeth are sparkling clean and like new and they were pretty disgusting before (she was 8 and not had her teeth looked after).