dental?

You can usually see tartar buildup at the gum line.  Red gums at the area where it meets the teeth is often seen too with tartar buildup.  Yes, you could have them do a dental when they x ray his hips.  The vet can tell at a glance if he needs a dental cleaning. 

For whatever it is worth -- every individual dog (and this particularly can embrace differences in breed makeup) will be different as to how good their teeth are. 

Tink chews on a nylabone pretty much several times a day and for a pug her teeth are darned good.  Luna doesn't chew much of anything - it's just not *her* thing -- and she needed a dental when we did the surgery early this week but it's the first in 7 years WE have had her that she's needed one.

 Billy -- even WITH the raw bones he got?  He needed a dental EVERY year and so did Foxy.  Shelties have notoriously crappy mouths and so can cockers.  But Muffin's teeth were never as bad as Billy's (both Eng. cockers) -- much of it is the individual dog.

 And *any* time they have to be sedated for anything I pretty much always include a dental - it's usually only like $35 if it's an add on to existing surgery but if you HAVE to have one done - it winds up pricey. 

Now my vet will do it with gas alone -- and some vets require the dog be sedated *and* gassed.  That's between you and your vet.

Coke ate some raw bone today and I noticed his gums were bleeding.  He doesn't seem to have a bad tooth or abscess but I think we will be pursuing this dental.  Seems kind of young for that but I know teeth are probably genetic like in humans.  I had a cat that needed at dental at age 1.  Coke also is not really a chewer, he doesn't chew nylabones or other toys like the GSDs do.