Riverbend Equine Veterinary Dental Services

27/10/2024

If your a little squirmish don’t look! With every dental, your gelding or stallion gets a free sheath clean. This boy showed us why it’s important to check this area! He had a huge bean!

22/10/2024

Very luck to have Dr Verwilghen in southern Victoria, 1 of 3 equine veterinary dental specialists in Australia!

🌟 Exciting News from GVEH! 🌟

We are proud to announce that our very own Clinical Director, Dr. Denis Verwilghen, has been officially endorsed by the Victorian Veterinary Board as a Registered Specialist in Equine Dentistry, making him one of only two specialist equine dentists in all of Australia! 🦷🐴

Dr. Verwilghen holds the unique distinction of being a double-boarded specialist in both Equine Surgery www.ecvs.org and Equine Dentistry www.evdc.org , the only one in Australasia! This means that GVEH continues to lead the way in providing world-class, comprehensive care for your horses, ensuring the highest level of expertise and precision in both surgical and dental treatments.

Your horse deserves the best, and at GVEH, we’re committed to providing just that. 💙

📞 Contact us today to learn more about how we can help with all your equine care needs!

20/10/2024

Travel dates!
We have some spots available on the following days:
November 5th - Colac & Surrounds
November 13th - Surfcoast
November 22nd - Lara & Little River
BOOK NOW TO SECURE YOUR SPOT!
Text 0427370570 or email [email protected]

Send a message to learn more

01/10/2024

It’s that time of the month! Introducing Winter, a 17.2h Irish Sport Horse coming in at 710kg!

24/09/2024

08/09/2024

Not strictly dental, but still in the mouth! This boy has what we call sialolithiasis! There are large firm sialoliths (almost like a rock or pebble) sitting within the salivary duct. They can be caused by grass seeds migrating up the duct opening from inside the cheeks. They can cause discomfort, difficulty chewing, and a reduction in saliva flow into the mouth. Check out the x-rays! If you ever notice this in your horse, it is important to get it checked out by your vet and they can discuss treatment options. Surgical removal is generally required, as the can slowly grow in size over time!

04/09/2024

Importance of using a mirror during an oral exam for routine work shown here! It’s as simple as getting another perspective. Easily missed, but important to diagnose!

02/09/2024

Heaviest horse this month goes to Milton, an 8yo TB gelding. Coming in at 686kg!

28/08/2024

Love hearing about how your horses are going throughout the year! Congratulations to a little patient of ours, IPod (Koorana Let’s Celebrate)! Winner of the Show Horse Council Victoria - Champion Rider 3 years and under 6 years for the 3rd consecutive time! Well done Harriet and Lucinda! Glad we are apart of your team in keeping iPod in top shape!

19/08/2024

An abnormal finding this week during a routine dental on a 3.5yo mare. A retained cap (or baby tooth) on an incisor (front tooth) was creating an ulcer on the inside of the adjacent lip, as well as blocking the adult tooth from coming through. We were able to remove the cap (last picture) and allow the adult tooth to grow and stop the lip ulceration. This horse will be feeling much better!

07/08/2024

A little change of pace today, our littlest patient, clocking 105kg is this cutie. Baby Tiger is his name, he’s a cruisy little mini with an epic hair do. 🫶

11/07/2024

A little late, but check out our heaviest horse for June! Meet Clancy (a little sleepy 😴), he’s a Clydesdale coming in at 878kg! No room to use the chest bar here!

27/06/2024

We are away this week and may take a little time responding to your enquiries and thank you for your patience.
We are up in Chinchilla, QLD supporting Victoria at the Australian Polocrosse Nationals! Kate is managing the Victorian Open Mixed team.
Never watched Polocrosse before? Head to Australian Polocrosse Nationals - Chinchilla, QLD
GO VIC! 🔵⚪️🔵⚪️

23/06/2024

UPCOMING AVAILABILITY:
July 17 - Lismore & surrounds
July 23 - South west vic (Cobden, Colac, Terang, Timboon)
July 25 - Bellarine peninsula
BOOK NOW TO ENSURE YOUR SPOT!

18/06/2024

Checking out all parts of the teeth during a routine dental is paramount, we don’t just focus on the sharp point! This horse had a pulp (part of the tooth the houses a nerve and blood vessel) exposure, shown here with a probe. This is abnormal, and can result in pain and infection, sometimes leading to a tooth root abscess. Next step here is x rays! 🦷

05/06/2024

Our heaviest horse for May.. meet this gentle man named Goofy, he’s an Irish Draught, and came in at 782kg!

25/05/2024

Interesting case we came across recently. A little miniature 8yo gelding. Showing what can happen when you have retained deciduous (baby) teeth, and the importance of getting the correct dental care from a young age!

When younger, this horse had retained baby teeth that didn’t fall out until years after they were supposed to. The result?

His middle upper adult incisors came through incorrectly (as seen in the picture), behind his other teeth. If corrected (removal of the retained baby teeth) at the time of eruption (around 3.5-4 years of age), this could have been avoided.

We now have a horse that has severe periodontal disease around all upper incisors due to years of food packing. This little guy will be getting x rays and then likely extraction of the displaced incisors.

09/05/2024

This particular horse reminds me why it’s so important to get regular, professional dental care for my horses. This is a case with many abnormalities that have not been correctly addressed over time.

1. severe cheek ulceration caused by sharp points on teeth
2. Abnormal wear resulting in a wave, tall teeth and excessive transverse ridges
3. Significant periodontal disease due to enlarged gaps between teeth and food packing.
This horse cannot chew effectively and therefore cannot digest long fibrous feeds, such as hay or tall dry pasture, creating a recipe for increased risk of choke, colic alongside malnutrition of not fed concentrated feed appropriately.

If these cases are addressed early we can reduce the severity of what’s occurring here, and ideally avoid the secondary issues we can see in this picture.