VETSCOPE

My dog wouldn't let me brush her teeth since she was little, and now she has quite an amount of built-up tartar. Her teeth are starting to fall out because of her periodontal disease progressing. Our local vet says that dogs swallow food without chewing so they don't really need their teeth and that teeth scaling under general anesthesia might be risky in lightweight dogs. Do you think it's okay if I follow what our vet says and leave the tartar? Also, there's a pet store near us that offers teeth scaling without anesthesia. Do you think there are any risks in taking this procedure?