Equine Dentistry

The horse's mouth is sadly a very neglected area in veterinary medicine and in the horse world in general. I feel it is important to emphasise the importance of good horse mouth- and teeth hygiene and maintenance, to all you people out there dealing with horses on a regular basis. In addition to the direct pain aspect of it, I will also deal with other problems the horse can get from having poor teeth or disorders of the mouth.

More and more people are becoming aware of how oral and dental health in the horse will effect the horse's health, well being and performance. No living being can survive without nutrition, and for herbivores it is vital to be able to chew their feed properly before digesting.

You might ask yourself how horses in the wild has been able to survive evolution through time, and now suddenly need dentistry. There are a number of reasons for this, and probably also a combination.

1. The most important reason is probably the diet and feeding pattern we have forced upon our horses by domesticating them, and how this affects chewing pattern and the tooth wear. (Have a look at the chewing pattern section under physiology.)

2. A second reason is that we also stick a bit in the horse's mouth and tighten a nose band around its nose and pull on the reins, which obviously is very painful if there are sharp points or painful conditions there and soft tissue gets pushed against hard and sharp structures. Remember also that the bit itself can seriously injure the tongue and other structures in the mouth.

3. Also do our horses live longer now than it used to and therefore get more dental problems?

5. Survival of the fittest. Did horses with severe anatomical defects in the mouth live to breed and pass on the possibly "bad" genes?

6. We have started breeding breeds, like miniatures, where the horse has shrunk faster than the teeth, and therefore will have problems with fitting all the teeth in. Also the mixing of different breeds where one bloodline has a larger head than the other, can cause problems with space. This might be a problem when breeding a thoroughbred with relatively long jaws, to an Arabian with short jaws. The result might be a short jawed horse with large teeth.

We demand maximum performance from our sport horses, this will take an efficient digestive system and metabolism, and being able to chew the food properly is essensial to get the most out of the food. You will even find in most cases you will visibly save feed and money because the horse can make more use of it.

You should be aware that proper equine dentistry has a lot more to it than just sticking a float into the horse's mouth and rasp a few strokes. It involves, or should involve, much more than the routine "floating". As you see from the previous list there are so many conditions you can miss from not looking or from not knowing what to look for. It is also an issue that you can, and are allowed to, do something about a problem in the mouth. But that's another story.

A thorough examination is essensial!!!

Your vet should look, touch and feel to examine the teeth and the mouth thoroughly to check for any abnormalities or loose teeth. Unfortunately there is no way your vet or dentist can do a proper job of examining the horse without the use of a speculum/gag, and it is not something to be proud of that you "don't need a gag".Don't be happy until your vet has taken a flashlight or a headlamp and actually LOOKs into the mouth, and also puts his hand in to FEEL everywhere. There is unfortunately no way you can do this thoroughly and safely without a gag. I am aware of the fact that a lot of horses and owners don't like the gags much, but it also has a lot to do with how you use it and how polite you are when approaching the horse. Some horses unfortunately need to be sedated to do this safely and thoroughly.

The horse should be examined for abnormal eruption patterns, malocclusions, wear pattern, sharp points, loose teeth, cracked teeth, pockets, infections, retained caps etc.

Soft tissue is examined for scars, wounds, ulcers, cuts....also the tongue

The temporomandibular joint (that attaches the lower jaw to the scull) should be checked, as it in some horses can be very sore and actually have restricted movment.

The horse should be checked that the lateral movement of the mandible (lower jaw) is normal and that the teeth makes grinding possible.

The masticatory muscles are checked for soreness or swelling.

And after all this you do the neccessary treatment and corrections to any problems that might be present. Some vets prefer to use power tools as first choice, and the opinions are many when it comes to that subject. But whatever method you choose, it is important not to take off any more of tooth substance than neccessary, or you can literally reduce the life span of the horse. A power tool is a neccessity in some cases, for instance to reduce large and overgrown teeth.

Like with all other aspects of health, it is always much better for the horse and less costly for us owners to prevent disease and disorders when you are able to instead of waiting so that you have to treat the already sick and suffering animal. Teeth and oral disease are no exeptions.

Help the horse to avoid pain. The enamel ridges, overgrowths, trauma and infections in the mouth can really hurt your horse. This can manifest itself in a number of ways.

Help the horse to be able to chew it's food properly by eliminating pain, sharp edges, high hooks and ramps.

The cost issue. You can reduce the feed by several pounds a day if the teeth are regularly taken care of.

A horse that can't chew its food can get impactions of the throat and also intestines (one of the causes of colic symptoms) and it can also cause diarrhoea. Avoid unneccessary disease and suffering.

A high performance horse needs all the nutritions and energy it possibly can from the food. If he can't chew properly, he can't digest properly. Improve performance by having a pain free horse that can chew and digest efficiently.

To make the teeth last longer, and thereby add to the life span of your horse. It is a misunderstood thing that the horses teeth grow all the horse's life life that of the rabbit. The horse molars have a maximum length and erupt around 5 mm per year, at the same rate as they are worn down, and in the end they simply don't have any more reserve crown to erupt. The life span of the teeth are amongst the most important factors deciding hoe long the horse will live. The elderly horse with really worn or missing teeth can be fed on soft and easy chewable feeds, ie Purina senior, to help it make the most of the food it is eating.

Avoid the problems the horse can get you into when getting confused and scared from pain, and also head throwing etc. The horse is a big animal and accidents, small and big, happen all the time.

Like any other condition of the horse, the teeth should be seen to if the horse shows symptoms of disease or discomfort. If the horse doesn't show symptoms, it should be checked regularly anyway, as not all horses will show symptoms, or they might show symptoms that might be confused with something else. In the grown horse, as a general rule, and if your horse doesn't have a specific dental problem you know about, every 9-12 or so months should be fine. Start off with the foals, as it is very useful to find problems early to be able to correct them successfully. An overjet or underjet can cause problems with hooks, ramps and various other problems at an early age, and should be taken care of.