My dog doesn’t like his face being touched

Hello all,

As the title says, my dog doesn’t like his face being touched. He allows me to do so when giving him his medication and gentle pets, but when it comes time for the vet to check it—teeth, gums, whatever—he‘ll start thrashing around to try and get his head away from them. Eventually the vet will just give up and move on to the next thing. I’ve also attempted to gently check his mouth myself but I end up getting a similar response, though more subdued. Regardless, it’s incredibly difficult to get his mouth checked.

I can imagine there will come a time where I’ll need to get his teeth checked for dental issues, and while I’m not as concerned right now about it with how young he is, it would be good to get him to a spot where it’s easier to check and monitor his dental health. Is there anyone that might have advice on how I can train/desensitize him to having his face/mouth touched?

Thank you in advance.