equine dental disease

Question 1

what are the dental diseases of the equine incisors?

Answer 1

Retained deciduous teeth
* Fairly common
* Usually easy to remove
* Can cause gap between adult incisors
* May require radiographs if can’t distinguish between adult and deciduous tooth

Fractures/Displacement
* Usually following kick or getting tooth caught
* May require extraction
* Often possible to wire back into place and stabilise
* X-rays may be necessary – jaw may also be fractured

EOTRH - Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis
* Older horses
* Causes reabsorption of roots +/-cement deposition, teeth become loose and painful
* need to Xray and look at root reabsorption
* Extraction only treatment currently available – very successful

(Brachygnathia) Parrot/(Prognathia) Sow mouth
* Relatively common finding
* Over or under shot jaw
* Incisors don’t normally require treatment unless impinging on soft tissues
* Often have secondary cheek teeth issues
◦ upper 6 hooks and lower 11 hooks
* Correction as foal?? - will lead to dental problems and can impact sale

Diastemata
* Relatively common finding
* Gaps develop between teeth - usually age related
* Food usually easily picked out
* Can keep clean with old toothbrush!

Question 2

what dental disease can affect the cheek teeth of horses?

Answer 2

Retained Deciduous caps
* between 2.5-4 years old and have a full mouth by age 5
* Fragments more common than whole teeth
* Remove if loose or obviously causing disease
* food packing common - smell and pain due ot infection

Diastema
* If gaps develop food gets trapped often can’t escape again
* Can cause very painful gum/periodontal disease
* Always check opposing transvers ridges

Caries
2 types:
* Peripheral (surrounding edges of teeth)
* Infundibular (centre of upper cheek teeth)
Acidogenic bacteria cause erosion to cement (and enamel/dentine if progress)

Loose/Displaced teeth
* Tend to occur with age
* Teeth shorter overall length
* Reduced periodontal attachment
* Easier to remove?
* Extract if loose
* Extract if displaced?
* Round edges so don’t impinge on soft tissues/cause ulceration
* Flush out packed food (as for diastemata)
* Ongoing management likely

Question 3

what is the treatment for diastema of cheek teeth in horses?

Answer 3

Treatment can be challenging – management!
* Balance mouth (remove sharp points/excessive ridges)
* Flush/pick out food - be careful as this can be painful for the horse and they can react
* Pack with putty?
* Widen?
* Remove tooth/teeth?

Question 4

where do infundibular caries occur?
what can they lead to?
how are they categoriesed?
what is the treatment?

Answer 4

• Upper cheek teeth only – unique structure
• Potentially linked to tooth development
• Can lead to tooth fracture if progresses
• graded on a 1-5 scale
• Treatment involves filling affected teeth
  ◦ Complex, specialist procedure
  ◦ Can prevent future fracture
  Remove from occlusion if referral not an option