Dentistry

Basic Equine Dentistry

Brenda Wiley, D.V.M.

The old, skinny horse is a common image that we see in cartoons and ads often, but an old horse does not have to be skinny. Often times the cause of lost weight as a horse ages is due to tooth problems that can and should be corrected with floating. "Floating" means filing a horses teeth to remove sharp edges and maladies that occur as a horse ages and wears his teeth. Even young animals can have tooth problems that need attention. There are many things that can be corrected with floating. The most common maladies are discussed below.

First lets go over some basic anatomy. Horses have six incisors on the top and bottom jaw. They also have six chewing teeth on each side top and bottom for a total of 24 chewing teeth. Male horses (and some females) will also have upper and lower canine teeth that some people call "bridle teeth". The canine teeth are often mistaken for "wolf teeth". The wolf teeth are actually a horse's first premolars. They are small teeth that are located directly in front of the first big chewing tooth (the second premolar). Some horses have their wolf teeth removed to help with bitting problems and some horses do not grow wolf teeth at all.

A horse's teeth sit in their mouths similar to the way that our teeth sit in our mouths. The top teeth sit just barely in front of and just to the outside of the bottom teeth. A horses teeth erupt constantly for most of their lives (until about 30 years of age). As they wear down their teeth they can get some points and hooks. Points occur on the outside of the upper chewing teeth and on the inside of the lower ones where the upper teeth hang over the lower ones. The sharp points will prevent the horse from being able to grind his teeth back and forth and can cause cuts and ulcers in their cheeks and on their tongues.

Hooks occur on the first top chewing tooth where it hangs over the bottom tooth and on the last bottom chewing tooth. Hooks can get very long so that they will actually poke into the gum opposite them. They can be very uncomfortable and will effect the way a horse chews his food. Horses can also get hooks on their incisors depending on how well their teeth line up.

If a horse loses a tooth, damages one, or ages to the point that the teeth stop erupting there can be additional problems. These problems can include a wave mouth or a step mouth. A wave mouth is most common in older horses as their teeth stop erupting. As one or more teeth stop erupting, the opposing tooth will get longer as it has nothing to grind against. A step mouth will occur when a tooth is missing and the opposing tooth continues to grow into the space making a step in the row of teeth. A wave mouth or step mouth can be a serious problem as they can greatly compromise a horse's ability to chew his food properly.

There are a multitude of other dental problems that can have a serious effect on your horse. Though many dental problems are associated with age and wear, young horses can have serious dental problems too. A thorough dental exam is recommended each year so that we can correct these problems as soon as possible. The longer a horse's dental problems persist, the greater the effort and time required to correct them. A severe step or wave mouth can take multiple visits to fully correct. Severe points and hooks can cause wounds and discomfort in your horse's mouth that can even prevent him from eating.

If you are concerned about your horse's teeth give us a call and schedule an appointment to have them checked now...an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure!