South West Equine Dentistry

28/03/2025

Bloomin lovely on Dartmoor today 😍

26/03/2025

Are you preparing to introduce your young horse to work this spring? It’s really important before you start your young horse to ensure their mouth comfort.

🦷 Before the age of 5 years horses undergo significant dental changes including:

- the shedding of 24 deciduous (baby) teeth
- the eruption of 24 permanent molars, 12 incisors, possibly four canines and possibly wolf teeth.
This period generally coincides with the introduction of the bit and bridle and then ridden work.

🗓️ Regular check-ups every six months for young horses are extremely important, providing an opportunity to detect and address issues early, also paving the way to allow the horse to perform at their maximum potential.

🔍 Common dental problems in young horses include:

Sharp Enamel Points

As horses teeth erupt and come into wear, they are gradually worn down from chewing. This natural process creates sharp enamel points that may cause painful ulcers on the cheeks and tongue. These sharp points develop on the outside of the upper cheek teeth and the inside of the lower cheek teeth. When a horse has a bit in and a bridle on, the tack can press the soft tissue against these sharp points, increasing the risk of painful soft tissue damage. Thorough rasping of the teeth removes these sharp edges and helps maintain balanced dental arcades, reducing the likelihood of future malocclusions. Because horses have hypsodont teeth, meaning their teeth continuously erupt, sharp points will keep forming over time. Regular dental treatments will give your young horse the best possible experience of a comfortable mouth as they start their career.

Problematic Wolf Teeth

Wolf teeth are small, vestigial teeth that typically erupt between 6 and 18 months of age. Wolf teeth can be present in both male and female equines. They are most commonly found on the upper jaw and rarely on the lower jaw. While the impact of wolf teeth on performance is widely debated, it’s traditionally common practice to remove them in young horses as they serve no useful purpose. Lower wolf teeth almost always certainly need to be removed and upper wolf teeth are usually assessed on a case-by-case basis depending on their location.

Retained Deciduous Teeth (Caps)

Retained deciduous teeth are baby teeth that are present beyond their normal shedding time, which can affect the proper eruption of adult teeth. Mobile caps or those with a clear junction between the baby and adult tooth should be extracted to prevent issues like food trapping, gum inflammation (gingivitis), or more severe problems such as periodontal disease, or even apical infections. Retained teeth may also cause dental displacements, which may lead to diastemata with periodontal disease, and soft tissue trauma if they are out of line and pressing against the cheek or tongue. However careful assessment of deciduous teeth is really important as premature removal can damage underlying adult teeth.

By prioritising early dental care, you’re not only ensuring your young horse’s comfort and willingness to accept the bit but also reducing the risk of dental disease in later life. It’s a really important component of your horses overall life long wellbeing and every horse should have regular dental treatments.

05/03/2025

My Wednesday afternoon was WAY better than your Wednesday afternoon 😍😍. Mic drop 🎤

26/02/2025

Someone sneaked up for a really lovely cuddle… his mate totally got the wrong idea 😂

18/02/2025

Well, another nightmare day at the coalface 😂, luckily, my new apprentice was picking up the slack, and keeping a close eye on things.

He did so well on his first day of ‘toothing’, I’ve cleared him a space in the car 😍😍

11/02/2025

This job is utterly terrible. 0 stars, would not recommend 😂… on the other hand, I am now right into redheads 😍😍😍

10/02/2025

Little teaser for all the clients I’ve told I’d love to take their horse home 😂😂

Beware, it could happen …

06/02/2025

Had an absolutely brilliant weekend with Keith Evans Equine Dentist and Ian Hargreaves Equine Dentistry, looking at teeth and eating pizza… and maybe trying to fit a pony in Keith’s van.

Then this week has been mostly catching up with some very lovely, longstanding clients and their horses, and meeting some lovely new ones too.

Apologies, I’ve been a bit tardy on the sticker front, but look at this absolute stunner! The super gorgeous and very talented Rocky was an angel to treat this morning, even though he swears he definitely didn’t see my visit on his calendar 😂

30/01/2025

Wow, what a privilege to work with the amazing Banksy! (Or as I apparently called him, ‘little brown bean’!?). We were up against it with our height discrepancies, but luckily for me, Banksy was an utter gentleman

26/01/2025

👀 Uh oh …. These arrived this morning 😬

23/01/2025

Safe to say, these went down a storm today 😍😍

22/01/2025

True dat

It’s easy to overlook the dental needs of small ponies, especially those on restricted diets for weight management. However, these smaller equines sometimes face unique dental challenges due to the size of their petite heads. These tiny heads must accommodate the same number of teeth as their larger counterparts, 12 incisors and 24 molars, however with limited space it can often result in significant dental problems.

Smaller breeds, such as Welsh As, Welsh Bs, and Shetlands, are particularly prone to:

• Overcrowding and tooth displacement: This can lead to diastemata (gaps between teeth) and painful periodontal disease.

• Uneven wear patterns: Misaligned teeth wear abnormally, leading to occlusal overgrowths which can impact comfort and chewing efficiency.

• Missing molars: Due to lack of space sometimes molars are absent, therefore the opposing teeth will hyper-erupt, leading to large, very uncomfortable overgrowths that will continually worsen over time if not addressed. These large overgrowths will cause a lot of pain over their lifetime and will cause difficulty eating.

Routine dental checks, at least once or twice per year, are so important for ensuring:

• Early detection of dental disease and discomfort.

• Proper maintenance of chewing surfaces to promote efficient mastication.

• Comfort from sharp enamel points and occlusal overgrowths, which are inevitable without intervention.

Since horses, ponies, and donkeys have hypsodont teeth (continuously erupting throughout their lives), dental issues will ALWAYS escalate if left untreated.

At this time of year, equine dental technicians frequently encounter older small ponies struggling to chew hay. Often, these ponies have been overlooked due to their reputation as “good doers.” Unfortunately, by the time their difficulty eating is noticed, their dental issues may be severe, causing unnecessary pain and possibly even malnutrition.

By prioritising regular dental care, we can improve the welfare of these animals. Together, we can ensure they remain comfortable, healthy, and able to enjoy their food as they age.

21/01/2025

Security is tight today 😍😍

17/01/2025

Some really interesting cases this week of all shapes and sizes, ranging from beautiful showjumpers, very tasty eventers, gorgeous (and tall) dressage horses, and some stunning, and much loved, companions. Luckily, with a boot full of kit, there’s instruments to fit everyone.

Only one or two have ended the week with a tooth less than they started with 😂 (these were milk teeth, or ‘caps’ extracted from young equids where they had become wedged and retained by adjacent crowns).

A few more referral cases again this week, made all the more straightforward by the use of the dental endoscope 😍

13/01/2025

… so, there may be a small delay in getting back to everyone, but rest assured I will reply as soon as humanly possible 🫣

06/09/2024

It’s a common misconception that a horse’s teeth keep growing indefinitely. In reality, horses have evolved to have hypsodont dentition, meaning they have teeth with a large reserve crown that gradually erupts over their lifetime whilst being worn down through grazing.

The teeth erupt and wear down at a rate of approximately 2-4mm per year. This process means that the length of the hypsodont tooth is finite; eventually, the tooth will wear down completely as the horse ages.

If dental overgrowths occur and are not properly managed, they will continue to worsen over time because the teeth will continue erupting. Regular dental check-ups are essential to address these issues and maintain your horse’s oral health.

24/05/2024

Another satisfied customer 😂😂