I have no comment on the price, but dental cleanings are very important for dogs. Dental disease is often a silent source of significant pain for dogs. Anesthesia is necessary because dogs won’t sit still for the cleaning.
The author David Sedaris is apparently a compulsive trash picker-upper. He's said he has walked for up to 9 hours per days picking up garbage on the side of the road all the while. His town in the UK named a garbage truck after him, and he was invited to meet the Queen of England because of it (she used to meet with people who performed large amounts of community service).