Equine Dentistry

Dentistry is an important part of the health care of your horse. Your horse's teeth should be examined at least every year. In some individuals, particular with those with dental abnormalities, dental work may be required more frequently.

Both Karl Holliman and Penny Brownings are qualified Equine Dental Technicians (EDT) and members of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians having passed the BEVA/BVDA dentistry exam. Karl is one of only a few vets to have attained this qualification and Penny is the first Veterinary Nurse to achieve this!

All Veterinary Surgeons carry a full set of dental rasps with modern carbide blades and a full mouth speculum (gag) for a full and thorough mouth examination.

We also have a wide range of more specialised dental equipment including motorised tools . We are fully trained in modern equine dentistry techniques and are able to effectively correct problems such as hooks, wave mouth, dental overgrowths and incisor problems.

As Qualified Veterinary Surgeons we are able to provide sedation, pain relief and local anaesthesia as required during dental work, allowing a more thorough result and less pain and stress to your horse. This can also be safer for the horse, Veterinary Surgeon and the handler!

We offer a complete dental package (Performance float) as an excellent way to make high quality dentistry affordable at the cost of £75 (inc. Vat) or £60 for 5 or more horses (or when done at our Clinic).

This price includes the following:

• visit
• sedative (low dose for safe thorough examination and rasping)
• thorough oral examination
• rasping of all sharp enamel points
• 'bit seating' of all front cheek teeth for 'performance' finish
• removal of any focal overgrowths (includes ramps, hooks, overgrown teeth, waves, spurs etc.)
• basic incisor work if deemed necessary
• full dental records

(Advanced dental procedures e.g. removal of wolf teeth is not included but can usually be performed at the same time for our usual fee)

We do not charge for dental examinations. We only charge for work that needs to be carried out. The visit for annual vaccination provides an ideal opportunity to check your horse’s teeth.

Why is Routine Dental care essential?

Horse’s teeth are highly adapted to chew grass and fibre, but in doing so the teeth wear down at a rate of 2 to 3mm per year. This wear is balanced by eruption and an equal rate, until the horse reaches it’s mid to late twenties, when all of the reserve crown under the gum will have erupted and the teeth begin to fall out.

Recent studies have shown that up to 80% of all domestic horses have significant dental abnormalities compared to their wild counterparts. The lower jaw of a horse is narrower than the upper jaw. When a horse grazes at pasture the natural circular action required to eat grass brings the chewing surface of the opposing teeth into contact and the teeth wear down evenly. When a horse eats hay or hard feed, the horse does not need the same circular action to chew these ‘softer’ feeds and the result is that the outer edges of the top molars and the inner edges of the lower molars do not come into contact and don’t wear down. The end result is sharp enamel edges that cause ulceration and pain.

Centuries of cross breeding horses with differing head sizes has made dental abnormalities, such as hooks, overcrowding and misalignment very common. If a tooth is even partially unopposed then large overgrowths will quickly form, causing pain and impeding chewing.

Compounding these problems we then put our horses in a bit and bridle which can press against sharp teeth and can cause cheek and tongue lacerations and ulceration. To work on the bit in an outline, the horse must drop the lower jaw forward. Overgrown teeth will restrict this movement of the lower jaw, making it very difficult for any horse to work down on the bit.

How can you recognise Dental Problems?

Signs of dental problems include:

1. dropping food (quidding)
2. weight loss
3. bad odour
4. biting problems or evasion
5. head tilt or shaking
6. facial swelling/ nasal discharge
7. Colic or choke

Even in horses with moderately severe mouth lacerations and dental disease, the desire to eat will be maintained and the problems may not be obvious without a full dental examination.

We recommend every horse’s mouth is examined at least once a year. The interval for inspection and treatment will vary between individual and problem presented. Please note our recommendation on your horse’s dental record.