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Horses with teeth problems can exhibit subtle or obvious performance issues, including head shaking.
VETERINARY VIEWS
Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis (EOTRH)
Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) occurs mostly on
the incisors, sometimes the canines, and rarely on the second premolar. It tends to come on slowly, occurring mostly in horses older than 14 years
of age. Initial signs show a horse in discomfort that is unwilling to bite solid food, like a carrot
or eating from a hay net. Commonly, tartar accumulates on the teeth, around the gums, and exposed tooth roots. Most telling is that the gums are inflamed and rather than a normal smooth appearance, they are ridged with lumps over the roots, often affected by small gum abscesses.
The hypercementotic form involves gradual disappearance of the space around a tooth as root tissues are progressively replaced with alveolar bone. Another form involves
called floating or odontoplasty. Abnormally long teeth or incisors can also be ground off with special instruments to eliminate pain associated with chewing. Tooth comfort helps to improve digestive efficiency and allows a horse more comfort in the work he is asked to do.
It is critical that any dental work done with power equipment includes water cooling systems to avoid overheating teeth and deeper dental tissues. Studies have demonstrated significant adverse effects from overheating and thermal damage of dental tissues. Increase in tooth pulp temperature by 3.3o C leads to potentially irreversible changes while an increase greater than 5o C leads to pulpitis or pulpar necrosis in 15 % of teeth. Even 30 seconds of grinding without water cooling can increase the thermal insult to 5.5o C in 20% of teeth, which results in
an irreversible pulpal necrosis rate of 3 %. All teeth will undergo pulpar necrosis with an increase of heat of more than 16.1 o C.
It is worth noting that 30 seconds of odontoplasty removing 5 mm of dental tissue results in excess pulpal heat 20 % of the time. Thermal damage results in pain and potential death of a tooth, resulting in the potential need for extraction or rare instances of root canal. Water cooling reduces the risk of thermal injury by seven-fold, and no more than 3-4 mm of teeth should be removed at any one time.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Regular dental care is an important part of successful management of horses
of all ages. Schedule visits with your veterinary dentist at least twice a year. A thorough dental exam by your veterinarian additionally helps to determine if the diet fed is appropriate for the dentition and performance needs of that individual.
Filing down sharp points on molar teeth in a process called floating or odontoplasty helps a horse chew efficiently and without pain.
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disintegration of the tooth roots, resulting in loss of dental tissue and adjacent alveolar bone.
Radiographic evaluation is helpful in diagnosis. The earlier the diagnosis, the better chance of mitigating inflammation and slowing progression of EOTRH.
DEALING WITH BIT SEATS AND WOLF TEETH
Bit seats are no longer considered a necessary procedure in equine dentistry. A bit should never fit against the teeth in the first place so if a horse resists the bridle or tosses its head, it is best to look for a different problem.
Similarly, wolf teeth only need to be removed if they are causing an obvious problem. For a horse that is performing well, there is no reason to remove them.
ODONTOPLASTY (FLOATING)
It helps a horse to chew efficiently by filing down sharp points on molar teeth in a process
Horses with teeth problems also exhibit performance issues that range from subtle to very obvious. These include:
• Abnormal head carriage when ridden.
• Head shaking, head tossing, or tail wringing
when ridden.
• Bracing against the bit when ridden.
• Refusal to stop or turn.
• Unwillingness to perform collection.
• Reluctance to perform the job intended.
SOME SPECIFIC DENTAL PROBLEMS
Dental disease is estimated to occur in 36 – 85% of horses. Commonly found pathology includes periodontal disease, caries, wear abnormalities, and problems with eruption of teeth.
Diastema
In the normal equine mouth, cheek teeth are packed together tightly with no spaces in between. If a small pocket forms as a
gap at the gum line, it forms a diastema. Most periodontal disease is associated with diastema. The periodontium supports the tooth and is made of dental cement, the periodontal ligament, alveolar bone, and
the gingiva. Periodontal disease tends to be quite painful in horses, involving gingival ulceration and regression; advanced cases lead to tooth loss.
Food can fill in the gap and become impacted between cheek teeth. Acid production from bacteria and fermentation lead to inflammation, gingival ulceration, necrosis, and potential destruction of tooth cementum. Diastema are most commonly found between rear teeth of the lower jaw.