Equine dental care is a great investment: your horse will be
more comfortable, may maximize feed efficiency, may perform better, and may
These Frequently Asked Questions along with their answers straight
from A Horse's Mouth may answer your questions. Just click on the question and it takes you to the answer. If your question is not here,
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will be posted here.
Why do horses require dental maintenance?
My grandfather never had dentistry performed on his horses.
This is just a new fad, isn't it?
How often should a horse's teeth be checked by an Equine Dental
Technician or a Veterinarian?
My horse is involved in an upcoming competition. Should I
wait until after to have its teeth done?
Why do horses require dental maintenance?
- Horses teeth are hypsodontic in nature, which means that they
have a limited growth period, but prolonged eruption throughout the life
of the animal.
- The majority of a horse's teeth are buried within the maxilla
or mandible, and lengthen through "eruption" to
compensate for wear. However, with domestication - and the unnatural eating
patterns and diet that accompany it - the horse's teeth often grow faster
than they wear.
- Periodic maintenance will reduce teeth that have become
so long that they impede rather than aid the horse in reducing its feed
to digestible sizes.
- Even the horse which spends a lot of time "on pasture" requires
- Horses do not chew "up and down." Rather, while chewing,
their jaw travels in an elliptical motion, moving both to the left and right,
as well as forward and backwards, effectively grinding their food. As their
molar arcades are naturally angled, this grinding, circular motion "hones" the
molars, creating very sharp edges on both the buccal (outer) side of the
upper molars, and the lingual (tongue) side of the bottom molars.
very sharp points can cause severe oral lacerations, eventually causing
odd eating behaviors, a reluctance to eat, and performance problems.
- Horses are not immune to many of the dental problems people experience:
decay, impactions, gingivitis. Regular dental maintenance to spot and resolve
these problems will result in a much happier, healthier, and more productive
My grandfather never had dentistry performed on his horses. This is
just a new fad, isn't it?
- There is a misconception that equine dentistry has developed over the
last 10 to 20 years. Not true at all! Evidence exists that suggests equine
dentistry has been performed for centuries. In the cavalry, dentistry was
considered to be just as important as farrier work. As horses faded away
as our primary source of transportation, so, to a great degree, did this
facet of equine health.
- Race horses have been an exception; trainers know the importance of good
dental health on performance, and it would be a rare instance for a trainer
to risk the loss of a purse to neglected teeth!
How often should a horse's teeth be checked by an Equine Dental Technician
or a Veterinarian?
- A foal should be checked shortly after birth, as early intervention can
improve congenital flaws such as brachygnathism (parrot mouth), prognathism (monkey
or sow mouth), or wry nose.
- The individual should then be checked
as a yearling and then each 6-months until the age of 5-years to monitor
the shedding and re-growth of 24-deciduous (baby) teeth.
- Generally, after
the age of five, a once-a-year checkup will suffice.
- NOTE: The
guideline for equines in Maryland is to have an annual dental checkup and necessary treatment to ensure proper and
adequate food digestion.
My horse is involved in an upcoming competition. Should I wait until
after to have its teeth done?
- Absolutely not! Do it now- your horse may benefit immensely from the
procedures and reflect its newfound comfort in a dramatic performance improvement.
- However, bear in mind: if we need to utilize the services of a veterinarian
for sedation, such drugs may "test" positive in a urinalysis,
as well as any topical analgesics I might use.
- If your horse is performing
in an upcoming event, let me know before any procedures are started.
What is floating?
Floating is defined differently by different people, but generally means
the removal of sharp edges that develop on the molar arcades as a result
of the honing action of chewing.
Is floating enough?
- Absolutely not!
- While floating alone is beneficial to a horse, it is only
a small percentage of the work required to restore your horse's mouth to
full chewing efficiency and comfort.
- Healthy and comfortable dentition
is achieved through equilibration, or whole-mouth-dentistry.
How do horses eat?
- Horses use their very dexterous lips to choose their feed and draw it into
their incisors (also known as nippers).
- With their incisors, they tear the
grass from the ground, and with their tongue, move the food back to the
- The molars act as a millstone, grinding the grass, hay, or grain
into digestible sizes easy to swallow.
Do all horses need their teeth floated? Need maintenance?
- Yes. Regardless of the horse's diet and/or time in the pasture, wear will
occur on the teeth causing eventual loss of chewing efficiency, and causing
the horse to be susceptible to TMJ (temporomandibular joint) syndrome, weight
loss, and other health risks.
- Just like having your farrier and veterinarian
visit, dental checkups by an equine dental technician must be an integral
part of the horse's wellness plan.
What is whole-mouth-dentistry?
- Whole-mouth-dentistry, or equilibration, considers and maintains
the working relationships of all the teeth, primarily through crown-height
- Its goal is to achieve a three-point-balance between the
incisors, the molars, and the temporomandibular joint (TMJ).
What is "performance floating?"
- Performance floating is the application of whole-mouth-dentistry with a
special emphasis on the foremost molars in the creation of bit-seats,and
are applicable to any riding horses that utilize a bit.
What are bit-seats?
- The creation of bit-seats is a technique in which the first major premolars
- the teeth against which the bit rides - are carefully rounded and shaped,
thereby lifting the bit up and off of the sensitive bars, reducing tongue
pressure and making certain that sensitive cheek tissue is not pinched
between the bit and tooth.
- Bit-seats provide for much greater comfort for the horse, and often result
in great improvements in performance.
- The installation of bit-seats reduces a great number of performance vices:
headshaking, evading the bit, lugging, etc.
- Bit-seats are a "must" for competition horses, and for horses
in which a high degree of performance is expected.
- Performance improvement is often instant and dramatic.
What are wolf teeth?
- Wolf teeth are vestigial premolars, remnants of the hyracotherium stage
in a horse's development when seven molars were present.
- Wolf teeth sit just
forward of the first major premolar - where the bit lies - and their lack
of sufficient rooting often creates pain upon application of the bit.
likely resultant performance problems - head throwing, lugging, getting "behind" or "over"
the bit - makes a strong case for their removal prior to training or major
- Wolf-tooth extraction is an invasive procedure. For the well-being of
your horse - and as required by law - all extractions must be supervised
by a veterinarian.
What are blind wolf teeth?
- These are wolf teeth that have not erupted through the gum, but can cause
extreme discomfort from the bit while the horse is ridden.
- An equine dental technician or a veterinarian can find these by feeling
- Blind wolf teeth are often removed.
What are molars? Incisors?
- Premolars and molars are the cheek teeth used to grind and chew food.
- Incisors are the front teeth. Also known as nippers, they are used to
tear grass out of the ground.
What are hooks and ramps?
- Hooks and ramps are a problem of the molar arcades, and develop when
there is a malocculsion - a failure to meet properly - of a tooth and
its opposing tooth on the opposite arcade. If, as a result of the malocclusion,
a tooth only partially receives wear, the unworn part will continue to
lengthen through the process of eruption. The unworn aspect of the tooth
will develop a hook or ramp.
- A hook is a particularly steep overgrowth;
a ramp is a more gradual overgrowth.
What is a wave mouth?
Cheek teeth that are wavy rather than flat.
Will my horse require sedation for any procedure?
Very often a horse's dentition can be restored to complete efficiency without
any sedation. If a horse is particularly fractious (unruly) - rearing,
striking, or so fractious that a satisfactory job cannot be performed - sedation
may be required. I do require sedating for the removal of any teeth, including
Can you provide sedation for my horse?
- As I am not a veterinarian, I cannot provide sedation for your horses.
I am trained in the administration of such drugs, I am not educated in
or equipped to deal with an adverse reaction to such medicines, such as
an allergic reaction.
- If sedation is required to perform dentistry on your
horse successfully, we will need to schedule a time in which a veterinarian
can intercede to perform sedation requirements.
- The owner, of course, can
sedate the animal provided he/she is using drugs that have been supplied
by their veterinarian for use on that particular horse.
My horse is like a member of the family. Will this procedure be traumatic
- Horses respond to dentistry procedures differently. Some dislike it, some
are indifferent, and others actually enjoy the procedure!
- Regardless, all
horses are treated as gently as possible, utilizing techniques of good
horsemanship and employing methods of gentle desensitization.
- Your horse
will not be abused in any way!
Can a horse be "aged" by its teeth?
- To a degree. Age can be determined with reasonable accuracy in a younger
horse, because the growth of dentition occurs in quite predictable patterns.
- However, once a horse has developed its permanent teeth, age determination
is based on the degree of tooth wear and is subject to many factors that
include: breed, nature and quality food, environmental conditions, heredity,
injury and disease.