EQUINE DENTISTRY
Dentistry is something we are very passionate about at Lower House Equine Clinic, and we understand and recognise the importance it has in general health and welfare and also in ridden work.
We are able to carry out routine dentals at your own yard and at our clinic. Our vets are all equipped with motorised dental equipment, with manual rasps also being available if required.
EQUINE DENTAL DAYS
We run monthly dental days at our clinic, where we do a special dentistry package. This includes sedation, a normal dental examination, an endoscopic dental examination (using a specialist dental camera) and routine work and advanced work. Here we are able to go into a little more detail by using the camera, with the aim of providing a high end dental service to your horse. These days are both suitable for advanced and routine cases – plus bringing your horse to us also saves a visit fee.
Our dental days get booked up very quickly, so please try and book in plenty of time.
ADVANCED CASES
For certain cases that require additional expertise, we are able to offer you access to our visiting dental specialist – Neil Townsend MSc BVSc Cert ES (Soft Tissue) DipECVS DipEVDC (Equine) MRCVS RCVS Specialist in Equine Surgery European Specialist in Equine Dentistry.
We are able to carry out advanced dental procedures in our clinic. This includes dental extractions and dental restorations.
Neil joins us approximately once a month to perform advanced dentistry at the clinic, this includes surgical extraction using some of the latest specialist surgical extraction techniques. Learn More >
EQUINE DENTISTRY AT YOUR YARD
We are able to offer all routine and some advanced equine dental procedures at your yard, this includes work with hand tools and motorised equipment. We can fit this in during a normal routine appointment and this can be made by calling the office to arrange.
The Importance of Regular Equine Dental Checks
Equine dentistry is continually advancing and has progressed rapidly over the last decade. The emphasis over recent years has turned to preventative dentistry. By the time horses are showing visible external signs of dental disease, such as balling up food (quidding), losing weight or swellings around the head, then often this can represent advanced dental disease with conditions in their end-stage. This means that conditions may not be able to be reversed and more radical treatment such as tooth removal might be needed. Routine examination of the equine mouth as well as routine dental work is essential to pick-up and to try and prevent dental conditions in the mouth.
HOW TO TELL IF YOUR HORSE HAS A DENTAL PROBLEM?
Signs of end stage advanced dental disease can be much easier to recognise than more subtle early disease. Horses have adapted not to show dental pain, and as a general rule by the time they are showing signs it is quite advanced.
SOME OF THE SIGNS TO LOOK OUT FOR ARE:
- Losing weight
- Quidding Forage (Balling up forage and leaving balls of undigested forage on floor)
- Dropping food
- Bad smell from the mouth
- One sided nasal discharge (could be a sign of sinusitis caused from a tooth root)
- Swelling of the face
- Enlargement of the lymph nodes under the jaw, particularly on one side
THE MORE SUBTLE SIGNS CAN INCLUDE:
- Taking longer to eat than normal
- Reluctance to eat
- Slight change in grazing habits such as standing around not eating in the field etc.
- Change in social hierarchy with other horses such as last to eat or being more submissive
- Change in ridden behaviour and performance;
Evading a contact, Leaning on the bit, Throwing the head, Rearing, Stopping at jumps, Reluctance to go forward
THE ORAL EXAMINATION
Examination of the horse’s mouth comprises one of the main parts of equine dentistry. The mouth is rinsed to remove any excess feed material left in the mouth. The mouth is then examined using a combination of manually examining the dental arcades by hand, visual inspection using dental lights and mirrors, and using probes to examine the mouth.
Some of the conditions that may be picked up on a routine dental examination include infundibular caries, peripheral caries, diastemata, fractured teeth, displaced teeth, extra teeth, missing teeth, exposure of pulp cavity, focal overgrowths and excessive transverse ridges.
CARIES
This is a condition causing decay of the tooth enamel and dentin, causing a cavity in the tooth. It can either occur on top of the tooth on the occlusal surface (infundibular caries) or occur on the outside edges of the tooth (peripheral caries). There are different grades of caries. Caries itself may not cause pain but will lead to weakening of the tooth which will eventually cause to tooth to fracture or become rotten. Caries are often explored with a probe.
DIASTEMATA
These are little gaps in between the teeth where feed material gets stuck. The food can then become impacted in this gap and cause infection and pocketing of food around the tooth, called periodontal pocketing. This can cause infection and inflammation to track down the tooth causing irritation to the periodontal nerve and may cause infection of the tooth.
FRACTURED TEETH
Either as a result of trauma or from weakening of the tooth from a condition such as caries, a tooth can become fractured and even split in two. This then allows pocketing of food around the tooth, causing further infection and pain.
Displaced Teeth – The teeth should normally sit together in a line, sometimes as the teeth erupt into the mouth, one of the teeth is displaced into a different position. This causes an uneven wearing pattern with the other teeth, and can cause overgrowths in the mouth.
EXTRA AND MISSING TEETH
It is not unusual for some horses to have extra teeth, similarly some horses can lose teeth and have missing teeth. This can cause a misalignment to the normal grinding surfaces of the teeth.
Focal Overgrowths – Horses’ teeth are continually erupting within the mouth, and wearing against their opposite tooth keeps the height maintained. When the teeth do not quite line up with each other, some parts of the teeth may not meet their opposite tooth. As a result that part of the tooth can become overgrown, and if left can eventually cause a large overgrowth in the mouth.
CONTACT US
If you have any questions about Lower House Equine Clinic, our facilities or services, please feel free to contact us using any of the details below…