Periodontal disease is a legitimate concern in all mammals- dogs included. Some breeds seem to be more prone to it- such as Poodles. The basics of tartar formation in humans is that whenever you eat something, the bacteria naturally present in your mouth work on the sugars in the food, and produce plaque. The plaque sticks to your teeth. If you don't brush it off then it calcifies/hardens and becomes "tartar" or "calculus". The tartar is hard and adheres to the teeth like barnacles, and provides a great place to trap more food, plaque and bacteria. Let it go long enough, and the bacteria levels become an infection, and destroy bone and gum tissue. Now, consider that your dog NEVER brushes his teeth, and since you said you hadn't heard of a dental cleaning for a dog, I'm going to guess you haven't been brushing for him... AS I said, some breeds are very prone to this being a major problem, and loose teeth due to it. We've had 2 poodles in my childhood, and they both had to have regular cleanings, and it usually included an extraction or two each time. My presas have all been on kibble since they've arrived here, or been weaned. We have never had a professional cleaning done, but I did have one dog that had gum problems. However, since I'm a dental professional, I was able to do a little home cleaning of her teeth myself, using my instruments from school (after I was done with school of course :wink: ) Some of the thought process behind raw vs kibble and teeth is the fact that there's so much grain (carbohydrates=sugars) in the kibble that it feeds the tartar buildup and the gum disease process. And I can't argue with that. But I think ultimately it depends on your individual dog's teeth. Do your dog's teeth have a brownish-gray cement/mortar looking substance around the gum line? Are the gum tissures very bright red? Does your dog bleed all over the toys and bones he chews on? If so, it might be worth considering the cleaning procedure, to start off with a fresh healthy mouth, and then make whatever diet changes you feel are neccessary