World-Class Dentistry
Your horse deserves the best.
Dentistry
Horses have a unique dental structure in that they have evolved as grazing herbivores. Like humans, horses have two sets of teeth, deciduous (baby teeth) and permanent teeth. Adult horses have between 36-44 teeth. Routine dental work is essential to your horse’s overall health. There are a variety of dental conditions and diseases that occur within the horse population. Once the tooth structure has been destroyed, there is little that can be done for the tooth. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of feed pockets and diseased teeth are very important.
Below are some signs that your horse may have a dental problem:
- Dropping feed (quidding)
- Turning head while chewing
- Large, undigested feed particles in manure
- Decreased body weight
- Colic
- Behavioral issues such as chewing on the bit, bucking, or rearing
- Malodorous smell coming from the mouth
- Nasal discharge or swelling of the face
Dentistry
Horses have a unique dental structure in that they have evolved as grazing herbivores. Like humans, horses have two sets of teeth, deciduous (baby teeth) and permanent teeth. Adult horses have between 36-44 teeth. Routine dental work is essential to your horse’s overall health. There are a variety of dental conditions and diseases that occur within the horse population. Once the tooth structure has been destroyed, there is little that can be done for the tooth. Therefore, early diagnosis and treatment of feed pockets and diseased teeth are very important.
Below are some signs that your horse may have a dental problem:
- Dropping feed (quidding)
- Turning head while chewing
- Large, undigested feed particles in manure
- Decreased body weight
- Colic
- Behavioral issues such as chewing on the bit, bucking, or rearing
- Malodorous smell coming from the mouth
- Nasal discharge or swelling of the face
A thorough dental exam begins with a physical health exam. Dr. Jack will look at the overall body condition of the horse and listen for any heart abnormalities. Next, the horse will be sedated. We sedate our patients to ensure we are thorough and keep the horses comfortable. Horses develop phobias when dentals are done without sedation. The mouth is examined for a variety of abnormal conditions within and around the mouth. Once a dental exam is performed power and hand tools will be used to correct abnormalities. We can fix what non-vet dentists cannot.
Having regular dental exams and dental work performed by your veterinarian will limit the number of problems your horse will experience as he or she ages. Additionally, when your horse can chew comfortably and appropriately, feed utilization will improve, and life expectancy increases.