I recently made a trip to the Missouri Humane Society farm in Union, Mo., to attend a continuing education course on equine dentistry. Veterinarians are becoming more knowledgeable on the subject of dentistry in horses and are developing more advanced equipment and techniques for the proper care of the teeth and oral cavity of the horse.
Good oral health is vital to the horse for two primary reasons. The ability of the horse to prehend and chew their forage or feed appropriately has a tremendous impact on the overall health of the animal and the animal’s ability to maintain a good body condition. Particularly for horses, oral health is important for performance and pleasure riding as any kind of oral pain will often result in misbehavior or failure to perform when under saddle.
A horse’s teeth are under a constant state of growth and counter-balancing wear throughout the life of the animal. Due to this fact, horses are more likely to encounter certain dental abnormalities. Most horse owners are familiar with the routine ‘floating’ of horse teeth. Floating or leveling of the teeth is a procedure in which sharp enamel points are filed off of the outside edge of the upper and inside edge of the lower arcades of teeth. These sharp points form from incomplete wear and subsequent overgrowth of the teeth and can be a common cause of pain, oral ulcers and poor mastication of feed in horses.
Often horses that are in need of floating will drop feed from the mouth indicating difficulty chewing or may have bitting problems when ridden. Floating is the most routine of dental procedures and can be done on an as-needed basis dependant on routine oral exam findings. The extraction of wolf teeth is also a common procedure and can be done at the same time as floating. Other somewhat common abnormalities include hooks and ramps in which teeth in the front or back of the mouth tend to overgrow. Wavemouth is a condition in which the normal balance of wear is lost and certain teeth overgrow while opposing teeth are over-worn. If a tooth is lost in a horse, the opposing tooth will overgrow due to a lack of opposing wear. Retained baby teeth can also be a problem and cause abnormal eruption of the ‘impacted’ adult tooth. Other less common abnormalities include periodontal disease, fractured teeth or abscessed teeth.
Due to the importance of oral health in the horse and the likelihood of abnormalities, it is recommended that a complete oral exam be included in a comprehensive preventative health program for your horse. A complete oral exam requires a mouth speculum and a good light source. Typically, horses need light sedation to facilitate the procedure. Most horses need examination annually. Due to the shedding of baby teeth horses under the age of five should be examined twice yearly so that abnormalities can be detected and corrected early. Older horses may also require more frequent examination if certain abnormalities are diagnosed.
Darren Loula, DVM, is a large animal veterinarian at Fair Grove Vet Service in Fair Grove, Mo.
