Equine Detal Care
Tooth 2 hoof Ltd only perform grade 1 dental work. Drew is a dental technician which means he can rasp and shape the teeth to help the animal eat and be worked more efficiently. For most horses this service is sufficient. Drew has treated horses and ponies owned by members of the Royal Family, race horse owners and trainers, competition owners and owners of back yard pleasure horses. Drew can advise on other dental situations and often works closely with veterinary surgeons. A veterinary surgeon can administer sedatives, remove damaged or rogue teeth. If necessary the vet can administer antibiotics as a precaution or in the event of a secondary infection occurring.
Dental work is carried out using hand held rasps and a simple mouth gag. The use of the gag is totally painless and its sole purpose is to keep the mouth open so that the shape of the teeth and their smoothness can be properly assessed (it also stops Drew from getting his hand bitten!) Most importantly it prevents the horse from harming itself by biting down on the rasps.
NB No additional restraints i.e. twitches are used
Some of the signs of teeth and mouth problems
Usually it is advisable to have horses teeth checked regularly from the day they are born. Any deformities have a better chance of being rectified if they are discovered early on in life.
Because there are many dental developments from birth to five years it is advantageous to have the horse's teeth checked every six months. It is generally adequate after five years to have them checked once a year
It is sufficient for most horses to carry on with an annual dental check for many years. However, in some cases, for example the teeth becoming loose, the annual check may need to be rescheduled i.e. every 3 to 6 months
Look out for the following common symptoms
Head Shaking which could be caused by sharp pre-molars or molars
Feed Packing You will notice bumps on the outsides of the molars because of the accumulation of feed. This could be caused by the loss of a tooth or sharp edges
Bad Breath can be caused by compacted decaying food between teeth. Shaping of the relevant teeth could alleviate the problem.
Resistance to the bit. As an example, ulcers caused by sharp teeth have on many occasions caused a horse to object to the bit
Other notable symptoms which could indicate a dental check is needed
- Losing weight and condition, dull coat.
- Frothing and excessive salivation.
- Swelling and deformities of the face.
- Sore mouth (maybe blood in the saliva).
Observe the chewing process
To get a better understanding. Take a look at your horse from the front whilst it is chewing, the head (the facial skull) remains still while the lower jaw (the mandible) opens and closes in an 'oval' movement from side to side. If a horse cannot move the jaw properly sideways this is usually caused by enamel points on the outer edge of the upper teeth and/or enamel points on the inner edge of the lower teeth. In the wild or in pasture the horse will graze for up to 18 hours a day and the silicates and soil particles in the grass will help to wear the teeth more evenly. However, when we domesticated the horse and took it into stables, we changed its diet from grass to hay which is a softer and less abrasive product. This is one reason which has created the need for regular teeth rasping.