Dental Care for Horses

Providing dental care for horses is an important aspect to the overall health and wellness of a horse. Insuring quality dental care allows horses to eat and chew correctly. Most people do not recognize their horse has dental problems until they start losing weight because teeth problems are not easily detected. Provided are five tips for the maintenance of your horse's teeth are fundamental measures against preventable dental related problems.

1. The first dental exam should happen as soon as birth of the new horse to check gums and jaw alignment. Although there may not be visible teeth, correcting a poor jaw alignment is necessary for the new born to nurse.

2. Dental check up should be done every six months, equal to human dental care treatment. Every time you visit the dentist, your horse's teeth need to be inspected too. Regular dental care prevents premature tooth loss. The best way to insure proper dental care of horses is to conduct full-mouth speculum exam. The typical horse owner's "finger check" is not sufficient. The whole mouth needs to be examined with a hand. Veterinarians will even take full X-rays as part of the exam.

3. The worst dental problem your horse can suffer is tooth abscess. An abscessed tooth is centralized pus in the tissues of the jawbone near the tip of the infected tooth. This problem originates as a bacteria infection from an untreated decayed tooth or a cracked tooth. The most obvious sign of an abscessed tooth is swelling of the horses mouth and gums. Once diagnosed by a veterinarian treatment can then begin.

4. Sharp points on cheek teeth are the most common dental problem for horses. The points create shallow holes that let in bacteria and toxins, reducing the horse's life span drastically. It is important to maintain an even bite plane to chew food that prevents gum infections. The veterinarian might recommend floating its teeth. Floating is a procedure where sharp teeth are filed down for a level surface with less sharp points.

5. Although preventative maintenance is the best way to keep a horse healthy consult your veterinarian immediately if your horse experiences: weight loss, colic, head tossing, grain dropping, does not want to be bitted up, feed packing, bad breath, and undigested food in manure. These are symptoms of more advanced dental problems. Most horses do not show these dental related symptoms until a lot of painful damage has already been done.

The Kentucky Equine Research wrote a concise pamphlet for the dental care of horses. It is located on the web at Horse World.