Licensed Veterinary Equine Dentistry
Heartland Equine Dentistry provides dental care to horses in the Chicagoland and surrounding areas. Standing sedation, a full mouth speculum, a dental mirror, a periodontal probe, and an occlusal surface explorer are used to perform a complete and thorough oral exam prior to any floating adjustments. The removal of any sharp enamel points, hooks, or ramps is then performed as well as further attention paid to any other dental pathology noted on the initial exam. Being a licensed veterinarian, Dr. Emily Weathered takes time to evaluate the horse as a whole to ensure each horse can be safely sedated for the dental exam.
Equine Dentistry: The Significance of Routine, Complete Oral Examinations and Floating
Over the past 55 million years, horses have evolved from small, rabbit sized, forest dwelling creatures into the large, grazing animals we know today. During this evolutionary time, horses transitioned from eating diets consisting of primarily leafy vegetation that required little mastication (chewing) to highly fibrous diets requiring longer mastication. These fibrous, less nutritious grasses also meant that horses must graze for longer periods of time to obtain adequate nutrition compared to the energy dense leafy diets consumed before.
Horse dentition has adapted to reflect this evolutionary change in diet. The act of grinding these coarse forages wears down the surfaces of the teeth by up to 2-3 mm each year. With hypsodont dentition, or continuously erupting teeth, horses are able to compensate for this wear throughout their life. While many modern day horses are fed a diet that includes hay and grass, these diets are not perfectly reflective of the evolutionary diet of long-stem, fibrous grasses. This means that horses may not be wearing their teeth in quite the same manner as their ancestors. This, taken into account with an individual horse’s maxillary and mandibular conformation, can result in areas of the teeth that are not worn down similar to the rest resulting in the formation of sharp points, hooks, or ramps.
The above information highlights one reason why routine dental examinations and maintenance (floating) is necessary in identifying and addressing any of these potentially painful changes to the mouth. Furthermore, a thorough oral exam not only evaluates occlusion of the teeth (the contact of the upper and lower teeth/formation of points) but also assess the head as a whole, the oral soft tissues, the periodontal status (structures surrounding and supporting teeth), and the endodontic status (everything within the tooth). An open pulp chamber, a very painful condition, can be easily overlooked during a routine dental float if sedation, an oral speculum, and dental mirror is not placed in the mouth for a complete exam.
At Heartland Equine Dentistry, we recommend yearly dental appointments in older horses and bi-annual exams (every 6 months) in younger horses (<5 years of age) as there are many dental changes occurring within the mouth during this time. Regular dental checks and maintenance is key to catching any oral abnormalities quickly before becoming a bigger problem. This allows horses to continue feeling and performing at their best throughout their life.
