Help doc... I think my horse needs its teeth done!
Article from 'Straight from the Horse's Mouth' - August 2009
Written by Dr. Elizabeth (Liz) Thompson, BA, DVM, MACVSc (Equine Dentistry) of the Blue Mist Equine Veterinary Centre Ltd, Waihi.
Thorough dental care could be one of the most important things to influence the performance of your horse.
A working horse may exhibit many signs when dental disease is present. Some of these signs may be attributable to other causes (i.e. musculoskeletal or neurological), but it is relatively easy for someone well-trained in veterinary dentistry to evaluate the mouth for dental disease. These signs may include: pulling or "lugging" on the reins; resisting turns or other evasion; head tossing/ shaking; unexplained subtle lameness (a good oral exam is essential in a lameness or pre-purchase exam); mouthing or chewing the bit; head tilt; playing with tongue; sticking tongue out of mouth or over the bit; resisting bridling; refusing to maintain frame or vertical head carriage; or cheeks becoming sensitive to touch.
In the stable or paddock, signs which may indicate dental disease include: quidding (dropping hard feed or wads of hay or grass); excessive salivation and foul odour from mouth; head tilt while eating; grain in water bucket; playing with tongue; whole grain or long (greater than 5mm) hay particles in manure; refusal to eat or eating slowly (when they start declining their treats, there's really a problem!); weight loss; swellings along the bottom or side of the jaw or on the sides of the face between the eyes and nostrils; draining or discharging tracts (purulent or pus draining).
Shedding teeth
Horses begin their training at an age when teeth are lost and gained at a furious rate. Allowing for individual age variations, in the first year of life 28-32 teeth erupt. In the second year, 16 teeth erupt and 12 deciduous ("baby") teeth are shed. In the third year 12 erupt and 8 are shed; and in the fourth year 4-8 erupt and 4 are shed. As the deciduous teeth loosen, they begin to pack food material beneath and their root remnants become very sharp, making eating or biting down painful. This pain often results in reluctance to eat and consequential loss of condition. Imagine the distraction this provides to our young horses! When deciduous teeth fail to shed after they have begun to loosen, they are termed "retained caps" and may create long term discomfort for the horse. They may result in multiple teeth where they do not belong or eruption of permanent teeth along the wrong pathway, setting into action malocclusions (improper apposition of teeth) which can lead to lifelong problems, or worse yet, retained diciduous teeth may cause a "pulpitis" which can kill the permanent tooth, resulting in discharging tracts and requiring tooth extraction. Caps must not be removed too early, as the structure of the underlying adult tooth may be damaged by premature exposure. Not every horse read the book on the proper ages for shedding teeth, which is one reason good training is needed by your practitioner of equine dentistry.
Year 1-5 and beyond
Dental problems commonly occur in 1-5 year old horses and they should be monitored 6 monthly from birth to prevent big problems later on. These may include: sharp points, cheek, lip or tongue ulcers from these points, overjet (parrot mouth) or overbite, underbite (undershot jaw, sow mouth), retained incisor or premolar caps, impaction of erupting incisors, presence of wolf teeth (not an abnormality but may cause problems with bitting), unerupted wolf teeth or canine teeth, impaction of erupting cheek teeth with eruption bumps evident, and malocclusion and pulpitis from cap retention. Dental problems more common in more mature horses also include: gingivitis; tartar; periodontal disease; fractured or chipped teeth; cemental hypoplasia leading to dental caries or infundibular caries and malocclusions such as excessive transverse ridges, hooks, ramps, excessive crowns (overlong teeth); abnormal wear; wave or step mouth plus soft tissue injury from sharp teeth, loose and necrotic teeth with their accompanying constant pain, inflammation and entry of bacteria into the circulation. In addition, there sadly exists what some term "Get a Life" injuries, or damage to teeth or the diastemata (bars) of the mouth sustained from heavy handedness with a bit or other equipment which causes ulcers, damaged teeth or osteomyelitis (bone infection), with or without bony sequestrum formation.
Your equine veterinarian with postgraduate training in equine veterinary dentistry, or your equine dental technician (EDT), can help you by performing a thorough dental exam, complete with veterinary sedation (ideally), a well-rinsed mouth, a full mouth speculum, lights and dental picks. Following this, a careful odontoplasty (tooth floating) can then give your horse the full benefits of a less painful mouth, including being able to eat his food comfortably and efficiently.
RD1 stocks many good horse feeds, including extruded ones such as Economix, Breeda and Gumnuts (Mitavite brand) and Extruded Barley (Dunstan brand), which are excellent to keep dental attrition (tooth wear) to a minimum while providing needed nutrition as well as for maintenance of older horses whose teeth "ain't what they used to be"!
Talk to the team at your local RD1 store about your requirements.
Blue Mist Equine Veterinary Centre has a regular mobile equine veterinary and dental practice in the Tauranga, Katikati, Waihi and Hauraki Plains areas. Elizabeth also practices referral dentistry and postural rehabilitation work in the Auckland and Waikato areas. Contact details: nztoothvet@bmevc.co.nz, www.bmevc.co.nz, phone 07 863 9312.
Some products may not be available in all stores but can be ordered on request. Disclaimer: Any views and comments expressed in this article are not necessarily the opinions of RD1 Limited nor associated agencies. This content is copyright of RD1 Limited.
