What to expect during a routine dental check

By Your Horse

06 September 2010 08:00

Background Infomation

When your EDT arrives, the first thing he or she is likely to do is ask some questions to establish the medical history of your horse. This will help to indicate any possible problems.

They may ask:

-Is your horse's behaviour normal? Have they dropped any condition? Are they reluctant to eat or showing any signs of having difficulty eating? For example, are they dropping food?

- Is your horse's performance normal? For example, does he headshake, resist the contact, perform better on one rein, rear or buck?

Visual Examination

Your horse will be visually examined to determine his condition and general health. Your EDT will consider his attitude, weight, posture, condition, coat condition, and eyes.

Practical Examination (External)

Following the visual examination your EDT will closely examine your horse's whole head. They'll be looking for any external lumps and bumps that may indicate problems inside the mouth.

They may check if thre's any discomfort in the temporomandibular joint (TML) which is where the lower jaw joins the upper jaw. Any discomfort could indicate dental problems resulting from the restricted movement of this joint.
They'll also put pressure on the major muscles of the head, used by your horse to chew. Once again, any pain or discomfort of these muscles could suggest dental problems.

Fitting a speculum

For your EDT to perform an oral examination safely, they need to use a speculum to hold open your horse's mouth. It may seem strange at first but most horses aren't bothered at all. They may mouth and play with it, just as a young horse might play with a bit for the first time. This is completely normal and just an indication that the horse is feeling what's in his mouth.

The speculum will be used throughout the oral examination to hold open the mouth, but regular breaks should be given by closing the speculum, especially with younger horses to allow them to rest, and as a reward.

The oral examination

Your EDT will then examine your horse's whole oral cavity, which includes the soft tissue surrounding the teeth and tongue. They'll initially examine the mouth by feeling the arcades, creating a picture of any abnormalities or problems and, using a torch, visually check the oral cavity.

Before the examination they may wash the horse's mouth out with what looks like a big syringe. This removes any feed in the mouth - and most horses enjoy a good rinse and spit.

You'll see the EDT rubbing their hands along the inside of the lower arcades and the outside of the upper arcades, checking for sharp edges. They'll also run their hands down the surface of the teeth checking for hooks and ramps.

An examination of the tongue and soft tissue is necessary to check there's no ulceration or damage as a result of dental abnormalities.

The EDT will then proceed to float your horse's mouth, removing any sharp edges, hooks or ramps, etc, using a number of specifically designed rasps. The rasps vary in head angle and the length of the shaft depends on which teeth they're working on.

Dental Fact - A full examination and treatment will only take 45 minutes on average.