TREATING EQUINE DENTAL CONDITIONS
Richard L. Vetter, DVM
Performance Equine Dentistry, Inc. P.S.
This month we will take several of the problems we regularly find in a horse’s mouth and give you an idea of the procedure we use to correct them.
When I do my exams, I have a sedated horse with a speculum that will keep the mouth open and allow me to do a complete examination. A horse’s teeth go so far back in their mouth that the last molar is positioned almost under the eye. Occasionally, we have been told that their horse’s teeth were “just fine,” because someone had looked at their incisors or ran their fingers along their first cheek teeth and declared them to be. Knowing how far back those teeth go, it becomes obvious that unless someone has their hand in that horse’s mouth, almost up to their elbow, there is no way that the condition can be truly noted. We find points on the outside and the inside of molars and we find many “hooks” or tall teeth in the very back of the mouth that are actually traumatizing the opposing gum. Both of these conditions are often missed by other dental exams and treatments.
Those sharp enamel points on the edges of the molars cause varying degrees of discomfort when they cut into the cheek tissue, as evidenced by the following picture. Some horses go through life with ulcerated cheeks like the one shown in the photo, while their owners assure us that their horse is doing just fine. It isn’t that we are dealing with ignorant owners; the animals usually are just very nice, compliant, willing and obedient horses that don’t complain. Outwardly there is no indication of a problem.
The purpose of the “traditional float” has been to address these points. Unfortunately this was often considered the total need for the horse and therefore the complete veterinary treatment of the “dental condition.” This often left owners (and veterinarians) believing that they had performed an adequate job on their horse. We’ve learned, through advanced education and training that not only were we not doing a good job of getting rid of points, we were not addressing serious malocclusions (the failure of the teeth opposite each other in the upper and lower jaws to close or meet properly) that would arise in horse’s mouths.
An often encountered malocclusion is a “wave mouth.” Note the picture of the skull. The wave mouth occurs as the teeth are not occluding (meeting) correctly which in turn compromises the correct chewing motion of the horse. A mouth that has the “highs and lows” of a wave mouth, is subject to abnormal pressures as the teeth grind, forcing gapping between the tooth and the supporting tissues. Gapping of the periodontal (support) tissues allows feed to pack and become decayed. This results in loss of the tooth’s support which we call periodontal disease and eventually the inevitable loss of the tooth itself.
In correcting these “waves,” the goal is to shorten the longer teeth and let the shorter ones lengthen and eventually both upper and lower rows of teeth, meet in the “middle.” Dental “waves” also inhibit the length of the desired chewing motion making mastication increasingly inefficient and poorer food absorption in the gut occurs.
Other malocclusions that we see include “ramps” in the front or the back of the molar arcade and hooks which occur when the arcades do not line up perfectly and a molar or a premolar does not have an opposing surface to wear against.
These conditions are often presented to us in an older horse that has started to be a “hard keeper.” At this time we deal with these conditions as best we can. However, these conditions get their start when the horse is young. Having correct regular dental care, starting as young as 2 years old and maintained annually, is the best way to insure that those problems won’t happen to your horse.
After I take down the points, the ridges, and any other deviations in the horse’s molar arcades, I then carefully examine the arcades looking at the overall balance, upper and lower, left and right.
The last thing I do while the speculum is still in the mouth is to take a dental probe and mirror and check the teeth individually looking for any fracture or decay problems. I also check for the presence and depth of any periodontal pocketing. The periodontal tissue supports the tooth and periodontal disease is the precursor to bone and tooth loss.
Next I remove the speculum and examine the incisors: how they meet and their overall condition. As we mentioned in the last article, feeding pre-nipped feed (hay), and some of our past “floating” practices, have been the cause of incisors becomingly overly long in relation to the length of the molars. This has effectively decreased the ability of the molars to masticate the feed.
Our dental focus is on correcting the horse’s mouth and keeping it that way for the benefit and longevity of the horse’s life. I remember the orthodontist telling my daughter when he took her braces off to wear the retainer every night or her teeth would move back into their previous position. It is the same with a horse, if a horse isn’t treated on an ongoing basis (at least annually) by a trained specialist with a knowledge of balance and equilibration of the mouth, these conditions will reoccur.
In the next article, the newest advances in equipment and training in equine dentistry: periodontics and restorations.
