When a dog's teeth get a build up of tarter, the dog's health is put at risk because the attendant infection along the gum line. Just as in humans, this infection can travel to the heart and kidneys risking severe complication. The dog can also suffer decline and ill humor as the mouth becomes tender. Obviously, the answer is prevention by brushing regularly with dog toothpaste (not rawhides or bones). But when the tarter becomes severe, you must get the dog's teeth clean. A veterinarian must put the dog's life at risk with anesthesia and charge you an average several hundred dollars to remove the tarter.