Dentistry

Modern equine dentistry is developing at a rapid rate. All horses should benefit from this. Horse’s teeth are different to human teeth, in that they continue to erupt throughout the life of the tooth.  As the horse chews its food, it grinds down the surface of the tooth resulting in development of sharp enamel points on the outside of the upper teeth & the inside of the lower. These points can cause soft tissue ulceration. We recommend that routine rasping is carried out at least once a year, and the time of your horse’s annual vaccination is an ideal time for us to do this. Horses with problem mouths, or those that are competing in disciplines that require very sensitive aides, may need dental examinations more regularly than once a year.

We offer a complete routine dental service using motorised battery-operated equipment. Our vets use dental mirrors and picks to assess dental and gum health. Some horses will require sedation for dentistry to be performed safely. This also allows us to carry out a full detailed visual examination of a horse’s mouth using a mirror & headlight, which can be dangerous in an un-sedated horse. 

Wolf teeth are small teeth that sit between the front incisor teeth and back grinding cheek teeth.  These teeth can cause irritation by the bit and are often removed.  Wolf tooth extraction can be carried out at your stables, under sedation. X-rays of teeth & roots can be carried out if required, either at your premises if mains electric is available, or at our clinic.

We have an oroscope, which provides digital images of the inside of a horse’s mouth. This makes it much easier to carry out a detailed examination of a horse’s mouth and also makes the examination visible to owners. This enable us to spot dental disease such as diastema (gaps), caries & gum disease earlier, before clinical signs occur, meaning that treatment can be carried out to prevent disease progression.

Advanced dental procedures, such as diastema work, extractions and cavity restorations can be carried out at our clinic by our own vets or by visiting consultant James Roxburgh, or Rainbow Equine Hospital.