JOHN TOWE. Equine Dental Technician. BAEDT UK Qualified

12/08/2025

Even though your broodmare isn’t in active work, regular dental treatments are still an important part of their welfare. Regular routine treatments will ensure they are comfortable, identify any dental problems early, and avoid any other potential dental problems in the future, this will allow efficient mastication and therefore ensure they receive adequate nutrition.

Broodmares are often overlooked, but it’s important to prioritise their dental care when it’s safe to do so. Waiting for dental problems to arise may lead to problems becoming more difficult to manage.

Don’t let your broodmares be forgotten, make sure you schedule their dental checks regularly with a BAEDT member!

www.baedt.com

06/08/2025

15/07/2025

03/07/2025

To sedate or not to sedate

The question of sedation for routine equine dental procedures is one that often sparks discussion, and for good reason. Every horse is an individual, and ensuring their safety, comfort, and welfare during dental work is always the priority.

With the advancements in modern equipment, routine equine dental care has become far more precise and thorough than ever before. Many horses are able to comfortably tolerate comprehensive dental examinations and treatment without sedation, particularly when handled by skilled and experienced practitioners. BAEDT members are highly proficient not only in their dental work but also in equine behaviour and handling, allowing them to work calmly and effectively in a wide range of situations. Our members work day in, day out with unsedated horses, where horsemanship, patience, and handling skills are fundamental to carrying out thorough and precise treatments.

It’s also important to understand that carrying out a routine dental on an unsedated horse requires a different set of skills compared to working on a sedated horse. The ability to assess, reassure, and work with a horse that is fully conscious is a testament to the horsemanship, experience, and sensitivity our members bring to their work.

That said, sedation absolutely has its place, and for some horses sedation is essential to ensure dental procedures are carried out safely and thoroughly. There are a number of reasons why horses may require sedation for dental treatments, including if the horse is in pain, if they are anxious and their behaviour. BAEDT members are able to recognise when sedation is in the horse’s best interest and will always discuss with the owner and their vet to determine the most appropriate course of action.

All BAEDT members undergo rigorous training and examinations to ensure they meet the highest standards of equine dental care. With dental mirrors, high-quality head lights, and dental picks and probes, our members can carry out detailed examinations. When issues are identified that require further investigation or referral, members hold strong working relationships with equine veterinary surgeons and dental referral specialists, ensuring your horse has access to the level of care they need.

We’re proud to have 21 veterinary surgeons among our membership who have completed the BEVA/BVDA examination, further expanding their knowledge, expertise and are dedicated to providing the highest standards of equine dental care.

Ultimately, whether a horse requires sedation should be a case-by-case decision, based on their individual temperament, comfort, and the dental work required. With BAEDT members, owners can feel confident they are in skilled, compassionate, and highly trained hands.

01/04/2025

🧠🦷 Mechanoreceptors, Cranial Nerves & the TMJ: How Oral Health Shapes Whole-Horse Biomechanics

When it comes to equine movement, we often start at the feet — but science tells us to start at the skull.

Why? Because inside the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), cheek teeth, incisors, and periodontal ligament, there are thousands of mechanoreceptors—specialized nerve endings that detect:
👉 Pressure
👉 Tooth contact
👉 Tension
👉 Jaw movement

These sensory signals don’t just go to one nerve — they’re processed by a complex network of cranial nerves, especially:
🔹 CN V (Trigeminal) – Facial sensation, mastication
🔹 CN VII (Facial) – Expression, tension around the lips and jaw
🔹 CN IX (Glossopharyngeal) – Swallowing, oral sensitivity
🔹 CN X (Vagus) – Autonomic regulation, gut-brain connection
🔹 CN XI (Accessory) – Neck and shoulder motor control
🔹 CN XII (Hypoglossal) – Tongue movement and posture

📡 These cranial nerves form the neurological bridge between oral function and full-body coordination. They regulate:
✅ Jaw and tongue control
✅ Head–neck–shoulder movement
✅ Postural reflexes
✅ Proprioception and balance
✅ Autonomic nervous system responses

🔍 But when there’s dental malocclusion (uneven incisors, overgrown cheek teeth) or periodontal disease (inflammation of the tissues anchoring the teeth), those mechanoreceptors send altered signals to the brain. This sensory distortion can lead to:
⚠️ TMJ tension and bracing
⚠️ Head tilting, poll tightness
⚠️ Asymmetrical movement
⚠️ Inconsistent rhythm or contact
⚠️ Digestive or behavioral changes

💡 The cranial nerve system doesn’t just control the face — it influences the entire postural and emotional state of the horse.

✨ When we restore oral balance, reduce periodontal inflammation, and support the clarity of cranial nerve signaling, we’re not just helping the mouth — we’re unlocking the horse’s full-body biomechanics.

This is where true transformation happens: through a multidisciplinary approach that connects dentistry, neurology, posture, and movement into one whole-horse picture. 💡🧠🐴

📚
1. Kunz et al. (2023) – TMJ biomechanics & occlusal dynamics
2. Cordes et al. (2012) – Periodontal ligament loading in chewing
3. D**g et al. (1993) – Periodontal mechanoreceptor response
4. Shoemaker (2001) – Dental-neurological biomechanics
5. Pöschke et al. (2017) – Gene expression in equine PDL
6. Gellman (2010) – The jaw’s role in posture
7. Staszyk et al. (2006) – Collagen structure of the PDL
8. Tanaka & Koolstra (2008) – TMJ function and cranial integration
9. Szulakowski et al. (2019) – Imaging healthy cheek teeth
10. Physio-Pedia – Anatomy and role of the cranial nerves

🧩 The mouth isn’t separate from the body — it informs and regulates it.

🔗 Join us at our next Whole Horse Workshop at Treworgan Farm to explore how structure influences function: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-horse-owners-guide-to-functional-anatomy-biomechanics-and-wellbeing-tickets-1303853142849?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl

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.

13/03/2025

EOTRH stands for Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis. 🦷

This is a painful and progressive condition that predominantly affects horses aged 15 years and older. It mainly affects the incisors and occasionally the canine teeth, but there has been some very rare cases of affected molar teeth.

The condition involves two primary processes:

Resorption: this is where the calcified dental tissue starts to break down by the horse’s own odontoclast cells reabsorbing the dental structures. This process is believed to be immune-mediated.

Hypercementosis: this is the development of excess cementum which occurs as the dental structures are reabsorbed. The body compensates by over producing cementum in an attempt to stabilise the tooth. This results in bulbous or club-like shapes forming at the apex of the tooth.

The presentation of EOTRH can vary greatly between horses. Some horses exhibit more dominant with hypercementosis, others are more dominant with resorption.
The disease may progress rapidly in some cases but slowly in others.

Due to its progressive nature, early clinical signs may be subtle or go unnoticed until the disease reaches an advanced stage.

Common symptoms include:
•Tartar buildup due to reluctance to use the incisors
•Bulbous dental structures beneath the gumline (caused by hypercementosis)
•Diastemata (gaps between teeth), leading to food entrapment, gingival recession, and periodontal disease
•Red, inflamed gums with draining tracts due to infection
•Loose, fractured, or missing teeth
•Halitosis

Affected horses often struggle to bite into carrots or pull hay from a haynet. Some may develop headshaking, and severe cases can lead to weight loss.

Diagnosis of EOTRH is confirmed through X-rays, which will reveal the extent of resorption and hypercementosis. Currently, the only effective treatment is the extraction of affected teeth by a vet. Each case requires an individualised approach depending on the severity of the disease. Horses adapt very well following extraction, and their improvement highlights the level of pain they were experiencing before treatment.

The cause of EOTRH remains unknown, current studies are exploring periodontal ligament strains, bacterial causes, occlusal pressures, and genetics, however it’s likely to be multi factorial. As our understanding of the disease grows with ongoing research we hope to develop more effective management strategies.

Regular incisor checks are super important to identify signs of EOTRH early. If you suspect EOTRH, consult your EDT or Vet, early intervention can help minimise discomfort for your horse!

19/02/2025

When was your older horse last checked by a qualified professional? 🦷

To find a BAEDT memeber near you visit www.baedt.com

Every horse, every year!