The Need For Equine Dentistry - What To Expect From A Horse Dentistry Appointment

Your Dentistry Appointment


Dentists will have their own method in which they perform a dental examination and work but the following is a rough guide to the stages that should be incorporated.

When your chosen dentist arrives they should aquaint themselves with your horse. Usually if it is the first time the dentist has been to see you had your horse they will take a history of your horse and may even enquire into any previous dental work carrried out. After this the dentist will palpate the head of the horse, feeling for any tenderness in the temporomandibular joint or uneven distribution of muscles across the horses head. Once this overview has been extablished the dentist will put on the speculum on the horse. After slowly racheting the horses mouth open the dentist will palpate the inside of the horses mouth. Mainly using feel they will be determining the areas withing the horses mouth that need work, any soreness, the presence of wolf teeth, tha angles of the arcade tables, the presence of any hooks or ramps and any other abrormalities. After this some dentists like to offer the owner the chance to feel what they have. This allows them to gain a greater understanding of what problems may be present and the dentist can then explain the procedures they will go through to correct them.

The dentist aims to round any rims, reduce the height of any large enamel points, correct any number of malocclusions and create a comfortable correctly functioning mouth for the horse.

The need for Equine Dentistry

There are four main reasons why in todays modern world, there is the need for Equine Dentistry.

A good equine dentist treating your horse regularly will;

Maximise the function of the horses mouth
Ensuring the horse can masticate correctly and efficiently, in turn,
Reducing the cost of feeding horses as they will be able to gain the maximum nutrients from the food ingested.

Maximise the performance of the horse
By improving the function and comfort within the horses mouth
By ensuring there are no problems withing the horses mouth that could hinder the anterior-posterior movement of the horses head when moving.
Preventing soreness that problems associated with poor dentition could create when ridden.

Improving health and welfare
By ensuring horses are not in any discomfort / pain
Evolution of the horse indicates long periods of trickle feeding as the most natural way of eating, this can be achieved in comfort with a correct dental routine.

Increasing the longevity of the mouth
Due to the contiunous eruption of horses hypsodont teeth, any small problem will only become worse.
A suitable dental routine will prevent these problems from becoming serious, increasing the lifespan of the teeth.