Dental Vet

10/02/2025

Welcome back to FEC February and the second post in our mini information series! 🐴🪱💩

Today, we will be discussing “What is resistance and is my horse at risk?

Gone are the days where the recommendation was to deworm your horse every 6-8 weeks without a doubt, however over the last 50 years our indiscriminate use of dewormers has unfortunately led to the development of resistance. Similar to antibiotic resistance, anthelmintic resistance is the ability for parasites inside your horse to survive deworming treatments that were previously effective in killing them. This occurs due to selection pressure, where the resistant worms survive and continue to reproduce resulting in parasite populations largely consisting of resistant worms. The more we deworm, the faster this resistance develops.

The concerning part of this is that drug companies have not been able to develop any new products for deworming our horses and as such we must take steps to reduce the frequency of deworming and hopefully the development of widespread resistance.

When we look at your horse’s level of risk of developing clinical disease, we are assessing the horse based on their age, their environment and their shedding status. In general, horses between 5 and 15 years of age are at the lowest risk. Horses not co-grazing with youngsters and high shedders, that live in a closed herd environment are at lower risk than those exposed to higher stocking densities, poor pasture management and poor quarantine practices. However each horse and situation is different, and needs to be assessed on an individual basis.

08/02/2025

Great to see! Well done Wallace!

A mule won a dressage competition for the first time ever in the UK – on the debut occasion he was allowed to take part.

Wallace The Great had been turned down from official events and was told he could not be a member of British Dressage, as he is half horse, half donkey.

But owner decided to fight for the mule’s right to be treated equally to a genuine horse or pony – which are a different species, with different chromosomes.

British Dressage conceded that mules would now be allowed to compete as a testament to ‘to inclusion and diversity in dressage, making the sport more accessible to all.’

For the first time ever in the UK, Wallace the Great competed in a British Dressage Quest Club competition, held at Summerhouse Equestrian, Gloucestershire – and beat eight full-horse competitors.

‘He was competing against cobs, ponies and horses. There was a bit of everything and he blew them all out of the water.

Wallace, aged 11, lives in Dursley, Gloucestershire, with two donkeys and another mule who was so badly abused it could not be ridden.

He was found wandering around a village in Ireland and rescued by the Donkey Sanctuary

Wallace measures 14 hands high, it is ‘exactly the same’ as riding a horse.

And Wallace proved he was more than equal in ability and intelligence when he scored 67.4 per cent in the competition.

‘I think this shows that mules are equal in ability, I believe Wallace wants to do this stuff. He makes friends with the other horses.

‘It is a double achievement – he’s made history for mules, and British Dressage. It is a historic day which will never be repeated, it’s a landmark.’

07/02/2025

Did you know if you refer a friend to Dental Vet, you can both get $50 off your next service with our "Refer a Friend Program"!

Book your appointment today:
💻 https://pawsapp.com.au/ClinicDetails?ClinicId=6081&ClinicBusinessGroupId=22
📧 [email protected]

06/02/2025

Our Baby Bundle Promotion is live! 🐎

We’re kicking off 2025 with our new “Baby Bundle,” which will be running for January and February this year! A great way to get your youngsters (and not so youngsters!) ready for the season and make sure they are comfortable and up to date before the season begins.

Book a Comprehensive Dental + Full Initial Vaccination Course (either 2 vaccinations for Tetanus OR 3 vaccinations for Tetanus & Strangles) + Microchip
✨Get 15% OFF the total bill and a baby bundle info pack!

Book a Comprehensive Dental + Full Vaccination Course OR Microchip
✨Get 10% OFF the total bill and a baby bundle info pack!

Plus, bring a friend! Book in for yourself and a friend at the same time, and you BOTH get $50 OFF your bills!

Preventing oral pain and serious illness is so much better than treating it once there is a major problem. Book now via the Paws app or email us:
💻https://pawsapp.com.au/ClinicList...
📧[email protected]



Photo credit to Pixers

03/02/2025

Welcome to FEC February and the first post in our mini information series! 🐴🪱💩

Today we will be discussing “Do I need to deworm my horse and are parasites really a problem?

Deworming your horse is essential to maintaining its overall health and well-being. Parasites, especially in large numbers can impact your horse’s digestion, nutrient absorption and energy levels and over time can lead to weight loss, colic, poor coat condition and even more severe health complications.

Large strongyles (Strongylus vulgaris), often referred to as “blood worms,” are widely recognized as the single most pathogenic nematode of the horse. Though their numbers have largely reduced due to our “routine deworming” with incidences of clinical disease low, recent trends in countries like Sweden and Denmark are showing re-emergence of the parasite due to reduced dewormer use. The strongyle’s life cycle involves migration through the arteries near the intestine, where they cause serious damage, including blood flow obstruction, arterial wall damage and thrombus formation. This can lead to intestinal infarction, requiring surgery to determine if the disease is treatable as medical management is ineffective.

In young horses, ascarids and small strongyles (cyathostomins) pose the most significant threat. These horses are particularly vulnerable as they have not yet developed immunity to these parasites. With an insufficient parasite program, large amounts of small strongyles can become encysted in the walls of the intestinal tract and emerge in mass numbers resulting in severe illness such as rapid and severe weight loss and even death. In foals as well as our younger horses, ascarid infections can lead to colic and as well as intestinal obstruction, with these worms growing up to 25cm in length and 4mm in diameter with large numbers able to completely obstruct the small intestine. Horses with these colic symptoms may respond to medical management however at times surgery may be required to resolve the issue.

Image Credits to Parasitipedia, The Horse,

02/02/2025

A huge thank you to and our wonderful client Shirley for their donation of dental equipment to ! Great to see it being put to use at one of the partner groups in India, giving some much needed relief to some working donkeys. ❤️

02/02/2025

It’s “Faecal Egg Count” February. 🐴🪱💩

A lot has changed in our understanding and recommendations in terms of parasite control over the last decade, making it hard to keep up with what is considered ‘best practice.’ As such, we have decided to bring out this mini information series, where Dr Tory will be sharing information on everything parasite control and faecal egg counts every Monday (starting tomorrow) for the month of February to hopefully shed some light on this topic.

01/02/2025

At Dental Vet we have also invested heavily in our world class facilities to be able to provide our patients and clients with the safest and most comfortable dental experience. Yes extractions and many procedures can be done in the field but in many cases the risks do increase.

Having a clean, safe, climate controlled, specifically designed space allows us to give our patients the best care and being able to show clients what is going on with the endoscopic images on the TV screen helps owners understand what is going on.

As specialists in equine dentistry we can work anywhere, our equipment is almost all battery powered, and smaller and more portable than ever - and we have o...

29/01/2025

The hidden tooth killer!
This was a case we saw last week (one of many we see every day!), with periodontal disease- infection between the teeth. It looks very innocuous, very easy to miss (impossible to find without a bright light & a mirror/ endoscope) & would be so easy to just 'float the teeth' & ignore. Once we removed the feed material, the pocket was 20mm deep below the gum (second photo shows the bleeding gums & deep hole between the teeth). This was between upper cheek teeth & an older horse so we were very concerned that if this continues we could end up with a fistula (a hole between the mouth & the sinus so food material & infection then enter the sinus) which can be very serious (potentially life threatening due to the difficulty & expense of treatment).

At Dental Vet we are really proactive about treating periodontal disease- you just don't know what you are dealing with unless you remove ALL the food material & measure the depth of the pocket. Once the feed was removed, the periodontal pocket was disinfected with dilute antiseptic & a partial diastema bur was performed, creating a shallow groove over the gap between the teeth to allow feed to escape rather than get trapped & forced down between the teeth (third photo is looking across the grinding surface showing the groove). Antibiotics were then placed into the periodontal pocket and a PVS temporary bridge was placed over the diastema to help prevent feed from getting back in there.

Fingers crossed we can get a significant reduction in the pocket depth so we can then place a more permanent restoration/ bridge to prevent recurrence. If we can't get improvement we may be forced to extract one of the teeth but we will certainly fight hard to prevent that, as particularly in older horses, once you extract one it often destabilises the arcade & causes more periodontal disease between the remaining teeth so definitely best to keep the arcade in tact if we can.

"If you extract the tooth you have failed, you have failed to save the tooth"

27/01/2025

Lovely rechecking these restorations ('fillings') we placed 5 years ago!
This lovely boy was over 20yo when we placed them. I often hear clinicians say 'I wouldn't recommend fillings on that horse, he is too old' but age is really irrelevant, it is the depth of the infundibulum that is important. The infundibula do get shallower as the teeth wear out and we recommend restorations if they are grade 3 or grade 4 and 1cm or more deep (some exception with grade 2 in young horses), but I have had 13yo's where we didn't recommend restorations because they were already too shallow and had 20+yo's still with 2cm deep infundibula, and many 20+yo's that have had fractured teeth from this condition. Age is just a number, every horse is an individual with different anatomy, genetics and environmental factors that will influence their dental development and wear, so it's really important to do a thorough exam to properly assess them.

This particular case was actually a severe occlusal caries case and now all the occlusal caries have worn through, replaced by healthy tooth and just the last restorative material left in the infundibula. :)

24/01/2025

Just a reminder that we will be closed on Monday for Australia Day and there may be a short delay in responding to any missed emails or phone calls.



***Image credits to iStock by Getty images

21/01/2025

Our Baby Bundle Promotion is live! 🐎

We’re kicking off 2025 with our new “Baby Bundle,” which will be running for January and February thisyear! A great way to get your youngsters (and not so youngsters!) ready for the season and make sure they are comfortable and up to date before the season begins.

Book a Comprehensive Dental + Full Initial Vaccination Course (either 2 vaccinations for Tetanus OR 3 vaccinations for Tetanus & Strangles) + Microchip
✨Get 15% OFF the total bill and a baby bundle info pack!

Book a Comprehensive Dental + Full Vaccination Course OR Microchip
✨Get 10% OFF the total bill and a baby bundle info pack!

Plus, bring a friend! Book in for yourself and a friend at the same time, and you BOTH get $20 OFF your bills!

Preventing oral pain and serious illness is so much better than treating it once there is a major problem. Book now via the Paws app or email us:
💻https://pawsapp.com.au/ClinicList...
📧[email protected]



Photo credit to Pixers

19/01/2025

Today we saw a lovely mare who had a small and slightly mobile canine present. Previously, this canine was fairly stable with no feed packing, calculus or gingivitis present, however today it looked slightly different!

Due to the location of this canine, a perfect space was created between the canine (304) and the adjacent incisor (303) resulting in a build up of feed and calculus, as well as the presence of gingivitis, some gum recession around the 303 and decay on the actual teeth (caries).

We extracted this tooth using local anaesthetic to prevent further decay and hopefully make this little mare a bit more comfortable.

16/01/2025

We have a range of veterinary dentistry instruments available to purchase online. Although only a small selection is available, these are the essential pieces of equipment we use every day here at Dental Vet for examining the mouth and treating periodontal disease – and we absolutely love them! 🦷🐎

These tools have been carefully designed based on years of experience with features like:
✨ Very narrow noses on the 90-degree forceps to easily reach into periodontal pockets
✨ Long alligator forceps to help grasp feed
✨ Long haemostats with endodontic files we use for feed removal between the teeth
✨ Probes, mirrors and dental syringes

We have an easy to use online ordering system and offer FREE POSTAGE WITHIN AUSTRALIA!!!

Check out the range here: https://dentalvet.com.au/veterinary-dental-equipment/

15/01/2025

Today we had two seperate patients in with supernumerary teeth present. 🦷🦷

The first had two additional upper molars present (upper 12s), both of which were a little tall due to the lack of opposing teeth to wear them down. There was also some feed packing in between the teeth, especially on the side with the larger diastema present, resulting in mild periodontal disease, which we treated today by removing the feed and flushing out the pocket.

The second had an additional lower molar (412), which unfortunately is quite deviated alongside the 411 (due to the lack of space) creating the perfect place for feed to pack into, resulting in the formation of a 12mm periodontal pocket. We treated this today by removing the feed, flushing out the pocket and instilling metronidazole antibiotics.

14/01/2025

Strongly agree. We have many long term follow up cases, many where one tooth has fractured so we treated the same tooth on the other side and it never progressed. Done properly it is a well recognized technique to save teeth.

13/01/2025

🦷Here are a few more examples of pulp stones observed in a patient recently. These images show the grinding surface of the teeth. The pulp, which is normally covered by a dark shiny layer of secondary dentine, contains the blood vessels and nerves of the teeth, running all the way from the roots to the occlusal surface of the teeth. As teeth erupt into the oral cavity, the pulp should recede into the tooth, and a new layer of secondary dentine should be laid down. If this doesn’t occur, the pulp can become exposed to the oral cavity environment, potentially causing the tooth to die.

The reason secondary dentine is brown is that, in a normal tooth, it contains tiny tubules, which point towards the grinding surface of the teeth and absorb stain from the food the horse is grinding. In the case of pulp stones, tertiary dentine is laid down rapidly to seal the pulp, and the tubules are no longer arranged in neat rows, meaning they don't absorb stain from the food and remain white.

Usually, pulp stones are not a clinical issue, as long as the pulp is well sealed. They are simply an indication that some form of insult or injury to the pulp occurred at some point, such as infection or trauma to the tooth. However, what we see in the mouth has typically been laid down 2-3 years prior, making it difficult to determine the exact cause of these pulp stones.

This is a completely different scenario from when pulps are dark, black, and open, which may indicate a dead tooth. There are over 140 pulps in a normal horse’s mouth that need to be checked during every oral examination, so be sure your dental provider is doing this!

10/01/2025

A few cute photos from a lovely day out this week to bring us into the weekend! 🐎✨

Guess who was the star of the show? 🐾