I try to do all my teeth cleaning myself. But if there is a reason your dog needs to be sedated at the vet's office anyways, I would go for a pro teeth cleaning at the same time if you vet thinks its safe. It helps to do a two-for-one with the teeth cleaning. Then you're not putting your dog under twice and you can get a discount on the service. Just something to consider.
At home, start by warming your dog up to the things you need to clean his or her teeth. Toothbrush, any sort of scaling equipment and the toothpaste. Depending on the personality of your dog, you may just be able to get in there and get some good cleaning done. Or you might have to slowly lure your dog to accept tooth cleaning.
We use a scaler (bought the the pharmacy) to do some extra work on the dog's teeth when he's tired and able to put up with a bit of extra teeth cleaning.
But you might also try natural ways for him to scale his own teeth. My dog chews on bones and has really clean, lovely teeth.
