Beyond the Float

 

by Rick S. Marion, DVM

 

Routine dental care has undergone significant changes in the past 20 years. Floating of teeth as practiced in the years since World War II consisted of removing the sharp points that occur on the outside of the upper cheek teeth and inside of the lower cheek teeth due to the disparity of the width of the upper and lower jaw of the horse. As much as was possible, other abnormalities were addressed with the hand files. Most of the attention was focused on rasping the molars to allow a more normal chewing cycle and more efficient grinding of feedstuffs.

In the past ten years or so, Equine Dentistry has followed in the footsteps of small animal veterinary dentistry by focusing on developing more modern methods. A small number of ground-breaking practitioners have pioneered techniques to address dental disease in the horse beyond the float. Alleviating mouth pain and discomfort, extending the functional life of equine teeth, and addressing issues in the mouth that affect performance have been routine endeavors by the equine dentist.

To this end, a wide variety of equipment and treatment systems have become commercially available to deal with these pathologic conditions. In addition, diagnostic techniques that have become so indispensable in other body systems are being used much more frequently to assess dental pathology. X-rays, ultrasounds and CT scanning are being used to more accurately define the nature and degree of the disease process. Improvements in sedation and local anesthesia techniques have made many of these procedures safer and more comfortable for the horse.

Periodontal disease is quite common in the horse. Changes in the molar arcade that cause separation between the teeth predispose it to this condition. Missing teeth, steps, tall and short molars, broken crowns, and excessive transverse ridges all tend to separate teeth and allow feed to pack between teeth or between the teeth and the palate or cheek. Periodontal disease does cause mouth pain and abnormal odor. It also adversely affects the long-term health of the teeth. Treatment almost always requires some work on the occlusal problem, but may also require deep cleaning, trimming of infected gingival, and use of systemic antibiotics. After thorough cleaning and removal of infected gingival, local antibiotics may be used in the periodontal pockets along with dental impression material.

 

Disease of the pulp structures is not as common in the horse and traditionally has been treated by removal of the affected tooth, often with general anesthesia. Assessment of teeth with pulp disease and/or apical abscesses has improved, but, due to the complex nature of the pulp cavity and pulp horns in the equine cheek tooth, treatment still remains challenging. Extraction of the diseased tooth by pulling the tooth into the oral cavity under sedation rather than general anesthesia has improved the prognosis. The less complex equine teeth, incisors and canines, do allow root canal procedures rather than tooth extractions.

 

Restoration of infundibular caries (cavities) and of the decay of cementum and enamel structures, that occur secondary to the open necrotic infundibulum, is another area of advancing knowledge in equine dentistry. Techniques and materials borrowed from human and canine dentistry have been used to fill cavities and, hopefully, slow the degradation that could eventually lead to fracture and loss of a portion or all of the tooth. At this time it is not known how long the restorative materials will last in the equine cheek tooth and how much additional strength they impart to the tooth structure.

 

If your horse is experiencing pain or discomfort in the oral cavity, difficulty eating, or abnormal reaction to the bit or bitting procedure, a thorough oral exam may identify problems that can be treated by some of these techniques.