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Equine Dental Care By Mark Grant MA VetMB BSC PhD CertAVP(ED) BAEDT MRCVS


outine dental care is an essential and important part of the primary healthcare of your horse. Your horse’s teeth should be examined at least once a year by your vet or by a qualified equine dental technician. For some horses, particularly those with dental abnormalities, dental work may be required more frequently.


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Investigation and treatment of dental disorders has progressed tremendously over the past few years. Rossdales Veterinary Surgeons has been at the forefront of these developments, offering a full range of routine and advanced dentistry procedures, with several of our vets holding specialist qualifications.


All of our ambulatory veterinary surgeons are trained and experienced in assessing equine dentition and carry the tools to conduct a thorough dental examination and perform routine dentistry, using both motorised and manual equipment, at your yard. Vets are also licensed to provide sedation, pain relief, local anaesthesia and antibiotics, should these be required during dental work. If a more serious problem is identified during a dental examination, they can advise about treatment options and, if necessary, refer you to one of our experts.


There are now a large number of equine dental technicians (EDTs) who offer routine dentistry services. EDTs are not licensed to sedate horses and a visit from your vet will be required if your horse requires sedation. If you decide to use the services of an EDT, it is recommended that you choose a qualified EDT (members of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians (BAEDT; baedt.com) or Worldwide Association of Equine Dentistry (WWAED; wwaed.org.uk).


The Dental Examination A thorough dental examination will allow your vet to identify and treat dental problems before they become serious. This should include a history of the horse’s eating habits, discussion about behaviour when ridden, examination of the eyes, nostrils, facial and mandibular symmetry.


The incisors are visualised for any abnormalities and the horse’s mouth will be flushed out with water to remove any loose food before the full-mouth speculum (gag) is fitted. When this is in place, the cheek teeth (molars) can be assessed, using a bright light source and a mirror to detect any abnormalities or overgrowths. In addition to routine overgrowths, a number of other conditions can be present in your horse’s mouth which may not be causing obvious clinical signs, but early diagnosis and treatment can help to prevent future problems from occurring.


Dental problems Some common dental problems are discussed below.


Horses with a painful mouth will oſten drop their feed when eating, especially their forage. Food may be chewed for a while and then dropped, leading to the identification of long ‘cigars’ or balls of moist food in the stable (‘quidding’). The horse may eat only on one side of their mouth, or pack feed in their cheeks. If the problems have been ongoing for a long time, the horse may start to lose weight.


Domestic horses are fed a far more concentrated and easily digestible diet than that of a wild horse. This means that horses spend much less time chewing in a side-to-side motion, allowing them to develop enamel overgrowths much more quickly. The horse’s upper jaw is set wider apart than its lower jaw, which again predisposes the horse to overgrowths on the outside of the upper teeth and inside of the lower teeth (Figure 1). These overgrowths are the most commonly encountered problems and can lead to ulceration of the surrounding soſt tissues, causing marked discomfort.


Horses’ teeth are unlike our own and other domestic species as they erupt constantly throughout the horse’s life, and are worn down as they chew food. Some horses will have an upper set of cheek teeth positioned further forward in the mouth than the lower set, which leads to focal overgrowths of the first upper cheek teeth and the last lower cheek teeth (Figure 2).


Figure 1: Sharp enamel overgrowths on the outside of the upper cheek teeth.


Figure 2: A large overgrowth (‘hook’) on the upper first cheek tooth.


Figure 3: Wolf teeth extracted from the upper arcades of the same horse. Note the difference in the size and shape. These were extracted cleanly and in one piece under sedation and regional anaesthesia.


16 THE SPRING SPECIAL 2020 For the latest news visit www.centralhorsenews.co.uk


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