Quote Originally Posted by Orangutango
Winston is the only one of my dogs who has ever had his teeth cleaned by the vet, and only because he had a bad one that we thought might need to be taken out (it didn't, fortunately, and it's in good shape now) due to conditions previous to living with us. The others have no need for it and probably never will with good upkeep and such. I don't believe most dogs should have to get their teeth professionally cleaned ever as long as you take care of them.
The day I will have such beliefs will be the day I call my dentist and tell him, I no longer believe my teeth need cleaning. Not that I consider going to the dentist ever an event of joy.

Until that time, I will take seriously any recommendation by the Vet that one of my dogs needs its teeth professionally cleaned:

Association of periodontal disease and histologic lesions in multiple organs from 45 dogs.

DeBowes LJ, Mosier D, Logan E, Harvey CE, Lowry S, Richardson DC.
Department of Clinical Sciences, Kansas State University, Manhattan 66506, USA.

J Vet Dent. 1996 Jun;13(2):57-60

In the forty-five dogs studied, an association was found between periodontal disease and histopathologic changes in kidney, myocardium (papillary muscle), and liver.