Equine Dentistry Helps Keep Your Horse Happy and Healthy

Professional dental care is extremely important for horses, just as it is for humans. By ensuring that a horse’s teeth are kept in the best condition, overall performance is improved and the horse is able to absorb its food much more effectively.

Uneven surface wear on a horse's powerful grinding molars can lead to poorly digested food and weight loss, especially in older horses who may have not received regular dental care.  Everyday life for horses can be a nightmare if they have not had correct dentistry care as tooth edges can become very sharp.

Adult horses have six front teeth, 12 cheek teeth and 12 molars. Male horses have an extra 4 canine teeth. Some horses also develop smaller "wolf teeth".

Human teeth erupt and stop growing at a particular point.  A horse's teeth actually grow throughout its life, only wearing down from eating.  If a horse only eats manufactured feed and/or improved pasture its teeth wear unevenly. Rasping by an equine dentist gets rid of sharp edges on the teeth, making it easier for the horse to chew and to perform without pain and its associated problems.  Hence equine dentistry is paramount to a horse's performance and health.

The most common dental problems include:

• Sharp enamel points
• Misalignment malocclusions (hooks and ramps)
• Diastemas and periodontal gum disease
• Shearmouth (excessive angulation)
• Incorrect incisor angles
• Wolf tooth discomfort
• Steps or super eruption due to missing teeth
• Retained deciduous teeth (caps)

These problems can cause:

• Quidding (dropping feed),
• Difficulty eating and chewing,
• Head tilting
• Behaviourial problems, nasal discharge
• A foul smell
• Condition loss
• Drop in performance

Regular treatment by an equine dentist can stop these problems from occuring.

How often should teeth be treated?

Equine Dentist, Nick Sheehan, advises that the first time a horse’s teeth should be done is during the mouthing process.

"Young horse’s teeth grow faster and they lose their deciduous teeth (baby teeth), which can need attention," says Nick.

"Younger horses are also in their learning years so it is very important to prevent them having problems in the mouth, which can cause pain, especially in the early days of riding and breaking. I recommend at least a 4 to 6  month check up on young horses under the age of 6 years."

"Mature horses without unusual dental conditions should be regularly maintained to ensure a long healthy life. Paddock fed horses 6 years or older should be seen every 12 months, while performances horses 6 years or older should be seen every 6 months."

Importance of the bit seat

A bit seat is produced by rasping away the front corners of front upper and lower cheek teeth -  commonly known as the rolling of the first upper and lower premolars from the gumline to the chewing surface. This roll back gives relief from the teeth contacting the metal bit and damaging the teeth and causing pain in the horse's mouth. Bit seats are used for several reasons - many horses tend to have a busy mouth when bitted - they chew on the bit making a crunching noise. A more popular application for installing bit seats is used in performance horses both with amateur and professional riders. Bit seats help to give better control during eventing, regular riding and performance work by helping the horse keep its mind on the job.

If you would like to make an appointment with a qualified equine dentist, contact Nick Sheehan now on 0421 728 832.