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About Dentistry

A great need for equine dental practice has emerged because,  by domesticating horses, we have modified their habitation and eating patterns. , Horses in the wild graze up to 18 hours daily. Horses today are often at least partially stabled, and stabled horses tend to have more dental disease than horses living on pasture. We often select breeding animals without regard to dentition, thereby perpetuating the transmission of undesirable dental traits.

We demand more and more of our performance horses. The way many horses are managed today interferes with natural dental processes, producing disorders in the oral cavity. We engage them in sports at an age when they are just beginning their process of tooth eruption, replacement, and adjustment. All the permanent teeth have erupted and are in full occlusion when the horse is about 5 years old.

It's easy to imagine Michael Phelps having to swim for hours while suffering from a toothache !!! Or that girl who has a "window" in the mouth and crooked yellow teeth ... hard to face, huh??

Equine dentistry is extremely important in maintaining health and optimizing athletic performance of horses. Horses worldwide are benefiting from resurgence of interest by the public and by equine practitioner in dentistry. Visits to manéges, training centers, and stables by equine practitioners who specialize in dentistry has become common, and dental examination routine.
           Equine dentistry is an area that should belong exclusively to veterinarians because those who work in this field must have good knowledge of anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, internal medicine, and surgery. Equine dentistry has been studied more thoroughly in the recent years, and numerous studies are being conducted by veterinary researchers to improve our knowledge of dental disease of the horse .

Gastrointestinal disorders, such as colic and weight-loss nasal discharge, swelling on the upper or lower jaw, facial fistulas, difficulty in chewing, packing of  food in the mouth, quidding, and even behavioral problems considered to be caused by improper trainings, such as biting problems and reluctance to flex the neck, may be related to disorders of the oral cavity.

The dentist's role when training of a horse is initiated is essential because the discomfort promoted by the natural processes of eruption of permanent teeth and exfoliation of deciduous teeth, coupled with introduction of the bit and  bridle, makes the job of teaching young horses difficult and stressful. The results of regular dental care are truly rewarding inall establishments where the young horses are treated for dental abnormalities during this process of eruption and exfoliation! The same applies to adult performance horses because excess enamel sharp points that may lacerate the soft tissue and malocclusion, which blocks the movement of the jaw and proper positioning of the neck can cause serious consequences for the horse, like tenderness in the neck and pain in the entire length of the spinal column. Colic, decreased athletic performance, and loss of fitness can be related directly to the oral health of the horse.

The most commonly found abnormalities during in oral examination of the horse include the following: excessively sharp enamel points, malocclusions, wolf teeth, disorders of eruption,  and fracture of one or more teeth,  Enamel points are normally found in all horses, but when excessive, they can damage the cheeks and tongue, causing difficulty in chewing. Horses with sharp enamel points suffer when the bridle or halter pushes the cheeks and the tongue against these sharp points.

Malocclusion  is an abnormal relationship between the upper and lower teeth, which may cause sharp dental overgrowths,  such as excessively long enamel points, hooks and unevenness, such as ramps and step mouth. These overgrowths must be levelled because they may injure the soft tissues of the mouth and sometimes cause the jaws to lock, which in turn causes problems with the temporomandibular joints. Overgrowths inflict stress on opposing teeth, which can lead to fractures of the teeth and discomfort during chewing and training.

The wolf tooth is vestigial and has no function in chewing, but it may hurt the cheeks, tongue, and interfere with the bit. This tooth can be reduced or extracted depending on its position and the type of bit used on the horse. They are usually found only in the upper bar and erupt when the foal is about 6 – 10 months old. Deciduous teeth (i.e., milk teeth) are impacted more commonly than one may think, and  those that are impacted should be extracted because they disturb the eruption of the underlying permanent tooth resulting sometimes in periodontal and periapical disease and pain.

Dental fractures are commonly found during oral examination of horses. The fracture may be small inconsequential, but those that involve a large portion of the clinical crown (i.e., the crown portion of the tooth that lies w/in the oral cavity) can cause serious problems. Fractures with displaced fragments may be very painful , preventing the horse from feeding and drinking properly, because the pulp is exposed and because the displace fragment can lacerate or erode the soft tissues of the mouth. Fractures that result in exposure and contamination of the dental pulp usually lead to endodontic and periodontal disease and periapical  infection. Dental fractures should be carefully evaluated so that the horse can receive the appropriate treatment.

Foals should receive an oral examination early in their life because sometimes problems can be identified that can be solved when the horse is still young, thereby preventing disorders that may be decisive in their development, as in shows and competitions. 

Horses may react to discomfort and pain by shaking their heads or by exhibiting bitting problems, lack of contact or being too heavy on the reins, making it difficult to maneuver sideways, flex their necks or any other way they find to reject the mouthpieces.
          Regular dental maintenance provide better chewing and digestion, and a diminished likelihood of colic. When a dental abnormality is relieved, horses show almost immediate comfort, which is often manifested by more cooperative behavior.
         In my experience, the influences of oral health of horses can range from positive changes in the digestive system (eg. Improvement in chewing, decreased incidence of colic and diarrhea, and better feed efficiency), better balance, and resolution of some musculoskeletal pain, such as pain in the masseter muscles or muscles of the spine). Resolution of dental infection can improve the function of the immune system and, perhaps, as in humans, avoid bacterial endocarditis.