obese cat part 2

Question
i wrote to Tina yesterday about feeding my obese cat... and what she recommended was to remove hard food from his diet all together, and feed him a higher protein canned food.  
the problem is that i have heard dry food helps cats teeth stay healthy and clean- where as canned food cannot provide this service.  i wanted to check the validity of that, and if that is true- are there other ways to clean the cat's teeth? thank you very much. i would ask Tina, but she is currently "maxed out"
i was feeding him meow mix 2 times a day and he always feels starving.  i picked up some purina hairball control and diet for him this morning, and thought i would try that instead, as it is higher in protein for him... but should i switch to canned all together as Tina suggested?  

Answer
You are right about the dry food being better for the teeth--in the LONG term.  However, your cat being overweight is a much bigger problem right now.  For starters, I don't believe meow mix is a healthy brand of food.  It's like Doritos for cats!  Diet food is not cheap but you need to get it.  Also, when feeding the wet food, add water to it to make it soupy.  Water will fill your fatso up!!  He will eat less food and be much healthier!!