Teeth cleaning for tiny dog

[Hedgehogsintheorchard]

Can you recommend the best way to keep your dog’s teeth clean please?
One of my little dogs is booked to have a dental in a fortnight’s time. It’s going to cost me £850 which seems an awful lot for a very small chihuahua with one or two teeth that need removing during the procedure. My dog I recently,y lost had one at the same vet two years ago for £235 but since my old vet has retired & the practice has been taken over by Medivet.
I have another younger little one who I’d like to have to prevent having a dental in future as much as possible, along with this one after the dental. I already brush their teeth & use Plaque Off & hard dog biscuits & the fish cube chews but obviously this isn’t doing what I’d hoped.
The cost was a bit of a shock to be honest, I’m retired so just have the older, lesser, state pension.

Could you go to the PDSA vets instead? The price is a rip off in my opinion.
Another option might be to take out insurance/payment plan so its not too much of a strain on the finance?
Good luck x

Thank you for replying. I thought PDSA vets are for people on benefits which I am not.

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/eligibility

This page mentions state pensioners in council tax bands A-D might be eligible, if you fall into this group.

Otherwise, could you bring your dog to a smaller vet practice, that's not part of a chain, so the costs might be lower?

Good luck with it, I hope everything goes smoothly.

P.s I'm sorry about the recent loss of one of your dogs💐

Many dog groomers do Emmi pet cleaning, not sure how good it is but my little dog is off to have his first session next week, as for vet costs look for an independent vet in your area rather than a corporate owned, my older dog had a few extractions and a clean at a corporate vet and cost me over a £1000, she then needed another extraction and clean a few years later and I found an independent that charged just over £300.

£850 for a teeth cleaning is insane to me. We had our cats teeth cleaned a couple of months ago (and he’s 5kg so chihuahua sized) and paid less than £300.

Yes, I do know this & it’s why it’s why I brush their teeth every day.

Wow, Moanycowbag, that’s steeper than my quote.
I’ve been searching online but Medivet seems to have bought up all the practices within reasonable reach of me, I’m north & don't live in a city or big town. I did come across one independent vet who quoted far more reasonable prices on their website, around £250 but it’s too far for me to be able to get there. I’m just going to have to bite the bullet this time & try harder to avoid future proceedings.
These corporate vets seem to be causing so much difficulty for lots of people, it never used to be like this.
Thank you, I’m grateful for all your replies with suggestions.

Ah I live in the south where everything is so much more expensive vet wise seemingly, but thankfully a few independents are starting up to buck the trend.

That's steep, OP! I was quoted £350 last week, which I think is still expensive, so I'm making sure to stay on top of brushing etc. Also thinking about an ultrasonic toothbrush but not sure if they are scammy or not..

Do you have insurance with animal friends? Just asking because my policy updated and now includes dental illness, I think needing 2 extractions would fall under that? And possibly the cleaning of evidence of gum disease?