Equine Dentistry
Equine dentistry is an important aspect of routine health care, and is something that should be addressed in all horses. There are two main reasons for regular dental care:
- To enable efficient and comfortable chewing of food
- To encourage the horse to accept the bit and go into the contact without resistance
An adult horse can have up to 44 teeth. The front incisors are used to grip and cut the food, whereas the cheek teeth are for grinding.
Horses have hypsodont (long-crowned) teeth, which means that their teeth continually grow throughout their life, at a rate of approximately 2-3mm/ year. A young horse therefore has a large amount of “reserve crown” embedded in the skull to allow for this growth over their entire life. Chewing and grinding of food results in wear on the teeth at approximately the same rate as growth. If the wear becomes uneven then abnormalities develop that need to be corrected. Eating “hard feeds” like chaff, grains and pellets alters the chewing action, resulting in sharp enamel points developing faster than in horses that are on a grass and hay diet.
Common Dental Abnormalities
Sharp Enamel Points
Anatomically, the upper cheek teeth are set slightly wider than the lower cheek teeth. This results in uneven wear of teeth, and sharp enamel points develop on the outside of the upper arcade, and the inside of the lower arcade. This is exacerbated in horses that are “hard fed” as opposed to horses that are on a more natural diet of roughage and grass. Sharp enamel points will result in ulceration and subsequent pain when chewing and when ridden. These are corrected by regular floating.
Hooks/ Ramps
Hooks typically occur at the back of the lower arcades and the front of the upper cheek teeth arcades. These are again due to a slight mal-alignment of the upper and lower cheek teeth. It is especially important in riding horses that hooks at the front of the cheek teeth are corrected as they can interfere with the action of the bit. Hooks are also corrected by regular floating. If hooks have been allowed to grow excessively they may require several sessions, 3-6 months apart, to be corrected.
Step Mouth
Occurs when a cheek tooth is missing, resulting in excessive growth of the opposing teeth.
Wave Mouth
Occurs when the grinding surfaces of the cheek teeth arcade is intermittently convex and concave (ie “wave like”). This results in an inefficient grinding surface.
Routine Dental Management
All horses should have an oral examination performed every six to twelve months. Sharp enamel points can then be grinded down, and any other dental abnormalities present can be addressed. Grinding down of sharp enamel points can be done with hand rasps or with power tools. At Oakford Equine Hospital we use a Powerfloat for all our dental work. This enables us to perform a quicker and more superior job than if hand tools alone were used. This is particularly the case with large hooks/ ramps, wave mouths etc which are almost impossible to correct with hand tools. Used in the right hands, the Powerfloat is extremely safe and is well tolerated by most horses.
Wolf Teeth
Wolf teeth are small, rudimentary teeth found just cranial to the first cheek teeth. They are commonly found in the upper (maxillary) arcades, but rarely present in the lower (mandibular) arcades. Wolf teeth have no real function, and due to their position often interfere with the bit. For this reason they are commonly removed in young horses. This can usually be performed very easily with sedation and local anaesthetic.
