What to expect.

Perhaps you are wondering what happens when you schedule an Equine Dentistry appointment. Today I'll share a few pictures of various patients, my assistant Jerry and myself to illustrate a typical dental visit.

I start with an examination of every patient to evaluate their basic health. After listening to the heart and lungs, taking her temperature and assessing her over all well-being, I then focus on Millie's head, jaw and teeth. The next step is sedation, which is done with an intravenous injection.

Little mini, Dutchess, who is sedated, does not mind as I evaluate her incisors.

Cheyenne, an older gelding, has some nice moist pink gums, but shows uneven wear and growth of his incisor teeth.

To hold the horse's mouth open in order to further examine or work on the incisor teeth, a plastic "tube" is placed in the interdental space, that toothless area between the incisors and molars.

Once the incisors have been finished, it's time to move on to the molars. In the awake horse you can see and feel the first premolar, the molar that lies behind the bit. To see, feel and evaluate your horse's full mouth, tongue, cheeks and all of the molars and premolars, the mouth must be held open with a dental speculum. There are several different types of full mouth speculums. In the photo above, Jerry is applying a "McPherson Mouth Speculum" to Pistol.

This mare is sedated, her mouth is being held open, has been fully examined and she is ready for her 'float'. A 'head stand' is being used to help support her head. Basically, horse teeth commonly develop sharp enamel points/hooks which need regular (yearly) smoothing with a "FLOAT".

Several of the instruments that may be used during a horse dental. I will discuss different dental problems, how they are corrected and the uses of various instruments in future posts.


I utilize both hand and power instruments.

Bella is finished. One last look before letting her head down and removing the speculum.

Meet Fonz, his dental work is finished, his mouth is rinsed out and he will be very relaxed for a little longer as his sedation wears off. You'll get to see Fonz again, as I plan to feature him in a later post.

Aging a Horse by Teeth: Part 2

Wrangler's birth date is 5/8/2006. These two pictures were taken on 1/25/2011, putting him a bit over 4 1/2 years old. This is his left side and we can see that his upper corner incisor or I/3 is newly emerging from his gum line. The lower corner incisor is still his 'baby tooth' or deciduous tooth.









On the right side of his mouth you can see more of the erupting upper corner incisor or I 3/ . That the corresponding lower tooth is still his baby tooth is quite apparent: whiter, smaller and a distinct neck at the gum line.

Reviewing the tooth eruption chart from my previous post, note that Wrangler is on schedule with his teeth. The corner incisors are expected to erupt at 4.5 years of age.

Look at the photos again, paying attention to the intermediate incisors or I 2/2; note that the left teeth are smooth across the chewing surface (occlusial surface) indicating that they are 'in wear' and are actually 'level' at this time. Now look closely at the surfaces of the right I 2/2, the roughness indicates that the teeth have just recently become 'in wear' and it will be almost 6 months before they are 'level'.

One more tooth to note, on the right lower gum, behind his incisors, you can see his brown little canine tooth. These are common in male horses, not as common in mares.

Now go take a peak at your horse's incisors, have fun with teeth!

Aging a Horse by Teeth: Part 1

Three deciduous incisors are present in this photo.

Deciduous incisors differ from permanents by
1. they are whiter
2. they have a neck
3. they are smaller

Aging a horse by dental examination can be learned by studying and recognizing the normal eruption, anatomy, growth and wear of teeth. It is not an exact science as various factors can alter normal eruption and wear, but with experience and careful examination, a good approximation of age is possible.

The normal eruption times of the horse's incisor teeth are well documented and consistent enough to be very useful indicators of age.

Terminology:
eruption = a new tooth breaks through the gum line
deciduous teeth = temporary or 'baby' teeth
permanent teeth = adult teeth
'in-wear' = once opposite teeth meet after erupting and growing
'level' = about 6 months after in-wear, the tooth wears down to dentin.
occlusial surface = the surface of a tooth contacting the opposing tooth
incisors = the front teeth, used to bite and shear grass while grazing
--and one more just for fun
pseudopolyodontia = retained deciduous teeth


















This photo illustrates permanent incisors "in=wear", permanent incisors erupting and deciduous incisors. By the end of this session, you should be able to estimate this gelding's age.
Note the bottom tooth on the far left is loose and ready to "fall out". A deciduous tooth, it is whiter, smaller and clearly has a neck.



So, how do we designate the individual incisors?

By number or name. We start our count from the middle, there are 3 upper incisors on the right and 3 upper incisors on the left. Also 3 incisors lower right jaw and 3 lower incisors left jaw. A total of 12 incisors in the horse.
Di= refers to deciduous incisors. The permanent teeth are represented by capital letters; I= adult incisor.
1/=upper tooth and /1= lower tooth
Di 1/1or I 1/1 indicates the middle teeth, also called centrals or nippers (count central teeth 1st).
Di 2/2 or I 2/2 refers to the intermediate incisors
Di 3/3 or I 3/3 are the lateral or corner incisors.


Below: the loose tooth has been shed.















Here I am showing you, starting on the right edge and moving left. I1/1(centrals) both left and right, the mid line of this colt's jaw is just below the edge of my thumb. Note the smooth occlusial surfaces.
Next is I2/ (intermediates) and below it the site of a freshly lost Di /2 and barely visible I /2. I2/ has a very rough occlusial surface since is not yet "in-wear".
The far left two teeth are Di 3/3(corners).










To age young horses it helps to memorize the following information.
Sequence of incisor tooth eruption in the horse.


Incisors..................Deciduous................... Permanent
First................. Di 1 birth-1st week....... I1 2.5 years
Second............. Di 2 4-6 weeks............... I2 3.5 years
Third................ Di 3 6-9 months............. I3 4.5 years






Further, remember that it then takes approximately 6 months for the teeth to meet or be considered "in-wear'. In an additional 6 months the teeth have worn to the dentin and are considered "level".


Another chart to memorize.



Deciduous "in-wear"...... Permanent "in-wear" then "level"
D1/1 @ 6 months............ I 1/1 @3 years...........@ 3.5 years
D2/2 @ 6 months............ I 2/2 @4 years...........@ 4.5 years
D3/3 @ 1 year................ I 3/3 @5 years............@ 5.5 years






















The left side of this colt's mouth shows upper and lower corner deciduous teeth (or Di 3/3).

Erupted adult intermediate incisors (or I2/2), not yet "in-wear".

Lower I/2 is taller than I 1/, it erupted first which is most common.

Both left and right permanent central incisors (or I1/1)are "in-wear" and now actually "level".



So , put it all together how old is this colt?

















I1/1 erupt @ 2.5, 'in-wear' @3, 'level' @ 3.5

I2/2 erupt @ 3.5, 'in-wear' @ 4, 'level' @ 4.5

I3/3 erupt @ 4.5, 'in-wear' @ 5, 'level' @ 5.5

Remember, not all horses follow the rules. This colt's lower right intermediate incisor was last and just a tad delayed in erupting, the opposing incisor was the first to erupt of the intermediates.


How old is he?



These photos were taken 3/22/2010. His birth date is May 8, 2006. How did you do? We'll take a look at the incisors again after his fourth birthday.

Introduction

Modern equine dentistry provides complete and balanced oral health care. Dental equilibration service includes the traditional "float" (the removal of sharp enamel points on teeth that can cause painful problems) and the identification and correction of dental abnormalities and malocclusions.



A horse with a properly cared for and balanced mouth will feel better, perform better, and utilize feed more efficiently.



A thorough oral examination is the key to a detailed evaluation of the teeth. To minimize stress, i.v. sedation is administered to your horse. This allows for a more complete examination of the mouth and provides comfort during the dental procedure.