EQUINE DENTAL CARE

 
 
 


      Horses need regular preventive dental maintenance every six months to one year. Unlike people, horses' teeth have an eruption rate of two-three mm per year. The teeth should wear in parallel to the yearly eruption rate.  Wild horses and those allowed to graze all year wear off as much tooth as erupts each year.  Domestication and feed changes have changed the rate and pattern of wear so that the cheek teeth become abnormally shaped.  Changes within the mouth  can affect the horse's ability to chew, affect performance due to oral pain associated with the bit or bridle, and may eventually lead to major and expensive dental issues requiring extractions.  Serious sinus infections secondary to diseased teeth are common.  Cavities are very rare.

 

  Our goal is to provide timely preventative dental care so that your horse can eat well, perform at their bests and live into their 30's with functional and pain-free teeth.  We recommend an annual exam with appropriate corrections usually being required yearly.

 

     Equine dentistry involves much more than just "floating teeth".  Floating only refers to removing over grown enamel points.  We also pay attention to the shape of the arcades and how the grinding motion is working, the conditions of the gums and supporting structures of the teeth and any other problems that may occur in the roots of the teeth or bones around the teeth.

 

Thorough examination and OCCLUSAL EQUILIBRATION  (floating, correcting apposition of grinding teeth and balancing of the arcades) requires extensive knowledge, a dental speculum, a good light, good instrumentation and proper intravenous sedation to provide relaxation of the jaw muscles and to decrease movement and apprehension in the horse.  The exam must include seeing and feeling each tooth end every part of the mouth and surrounding structures.  Teeth are not simply hard inert objects.  They are live, growing structures and must be handled appropriately.

 

We use the most modern and up to date dental equipment available.  Hand instruments have been largely replaced by more precise and efficient motorized equipment which allows us to address each tooth individually and to be able to do it quickly and efficiently thereby decreasing the treatment time and stress on the horse.  Radiographs (X-rays)of the teeth provide us with information to evaluate structures below the gum line in selected cases.

 

 

                                                                          

 

     Taking a radiograph of upper arcade 

 

 

  

 Baby and adult incisors on X-ray

 

  For your own dental care, of course you go to your local dentist and may be referred on for endontic or orthodontic work.  In the animal world, veterinarians are the ones specifically trained and licensed to provide dental care.  This is very important, because as veterinarians, we are all regulated by a governing body that holds us accountable for the level of care that we provide.  We are also required to provide appropriate after care to all our patients.  Unlicensed dental care providers answer to no one and insurance companies usually quickly wash their hands of any problems arising from work done by anyone other than a qualified veterinarian. 

      We see good dental care as being one of the cornerstones of preventative equine health care.  Over the last 15 years, Dr. Alex Wales has taken extensive continuing education courses on equine dentistry and has instructed in teaching laboratories for the American Association of Equine Practitioners, the Alberta Veterinary Medical Association, the British Columbia Veterinary Medical Association and student laboratories at Washington State University and at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine.  The knowledge  he has gained has been shared with others in our practice.  We have many dental referral cases and referral x-rays sent our way each year.  With our up to date equipment and techniques, dental x-rays and if needed our fully equipped surgical suite, we are able to handle most dental cases  and provide the necessary after care for the complicated cases.