Equine Dentistry is a basic part of horse health care
that is often overlooked! Horses that receive routine dental care feel better and live longer, more productive lives. Just like in humans and pets,
oral diseases predispose the rest of the body to systemic
infections. Also, like dentistry in other species,
equine dentistry should be approached as preventative health
care. Dentistry, at a modest fee, should be performed
yearly to prevent costly treatments on diseased teeth.
Furthermore, severely diseased teeth may be uncorrectable, and
treatment options may be limited to tooth extraction.
Over 75% of horses have dental disease!
If your horse is not receiving routine dental care, your horse
is probably among this 75%! Many horse owners do not realize how important their horse's mouth is
to its overall health because dentistry has not traditionally
been a popular veterinary discipline. The good news is
that this trend has changed for the better since the mid-1990s and
continues to improve! The current interest in veterinary
dentistry has been met with both increased research and
exponential improvements in equine dental care procedures.
The horse's teeth have evolved solely for the purpose of
eating grass. Grasses are very coarse and actually contain
gritty particles (silicate) which wear the teeth away as the horse chews.
Unlike the crowns of human teeth which erupt to a predetermined
height and stop, a horse's teeth continue to erupt (push up through
the gumline) for the entire life of the horse. The eruption
and wear rates are equal (for grazing horses), and the teeth
maintain a constant crown height.
Horses evolved to graze grass over 14 hours daily! And
the single most important factor in preventing equine dental
disease is allowing your horse to graze as much as possible!
Since domestication and use of horses often precludes this ideal
unlimited grazing, routine dental care is required to maintain
healthy teeth.
Deviations to the normal eruption process of the adult teeth
and
abnormal or decreased chewing (horse fed grain rations) often cause abnormal wear patterns
(dental malocclusions) that can lead to severe health and performance problems. Once a dental
problem starts, it rarely corrects itself and usually
progresses causing problems to other teeth and oral tissues.
Routine dental care is important to identify and correct
dental problems as early as possible.
The goal of equine dentistry is the treatment and
prevention of oral/dental pain and infection through the maintenance of
proper tooth alignment, which improves both the horse's longevity and quality of life.
The following pages are designed to help educate horse owners
about the importance of "Comprehensive Dental Care" so that
they can make informed healthcare decisions.
What is Comprehensive Equine Dentistry?
It is not just "Floating" Points!
The "Routine" Dental Care Visit should include:
- Examination and Diagnosis: All health problems must
be correctly diagnosed before a treatment plan can be
prescribed. Likewise, dental conditions must be
correctly diagnosed before treatment begins. A
thorough examination of all oral tissues, not just the
teeth, is the most important
part of routine equine dentistry. Recognition
of dental conditions may require diagnostic imaging (X-rays)
to formulate an accurate diagnosis, treatment plan, and
prognosis.
- Occlusal Adjustment (OA): This "orthodontic" procedure involves
correcting malocclusions so that the horse can chew
properly. Teeth are living tissues, and inappropriate OA
can cause more severe dental conditions, as well as kill
teeth. The long term goal of this procedure is to
prevent dental conditions throughout the life of the horse.
- Floating: Removal of Sharp Enamel Point is a
minor part of the total dental procedure, yet this is the
focus of incomplete dental work (performed by untrained
dentists). Points are removed to relieve pain and
discomfort; however, this procedure alone will not affect
the functionality of the dentition.
In addition to "routine" dental care, the following dental
disciplines are currently practiced on equine patients: Endodontics (Root Canal Therapy), Exodontics (Extraction),
Orthodontics, Periodontics, Restorative Dentistry, and Oral
Surgery. Radiography (X-rays) is required to
practice these dental disciplines at the current standard of
veterinary care. These procedures are best performed by
veterinarians who have received advanced dental training.
WARNING: All Equine Dental Procedures are irreversible and
should only be performed by trained veterinarians. The
practice of Equine Dentistry by non-veterinarian "Equine
Dentists" is ILLEGAL in the State of Tennessee (and in
almost all states). Numerous "Equine Dentists" travel the
USA marketing their unrecognized credentials. Horse Owners
should beware these self-promoting frauds! If in doubt, ask
to see his/her license and insurance to practice.
Click on the Links below to view pages on these
topics:
Signs of
Dental Problems,
Dental Examination,
Dentistry by
Lifestage,
Dentistry in
Juveniles,
Dentistry in
Seniors,
Performance
Dentistry
Equine Nutrition
:: Equine Dentistry ::
Equine Vaccination/Deworming
Equine Mare & Foal Care
:: Equine Castration
