Case of the week- this horse had an unusual extra tooth (supernumerary tooth). The malocclusion (poor positioning) meant that food was getting trapped between her teeth and causing a deep periodontal pocket (deep gum disease affecting the tooth's attachments). This was the suggested cause of a recent sinusitis. Now this has been extracted, the socket should heal and there should hopefully be no more sinusitis and associated nasal discharge. The position of the tooth was also causing an ulcer to the back of the tongue so this will also heal now that the tooth has been extracted.
Thank you to Danny Cardeno Rodriguez MRCVS for referring this lovely horse.
GIFT DELIVERY TO ROCK FM’s MISSION CHRISTMAS TOY APPEAL HQ
Huge thanks to all of our lovely clients and staff who donated toys to Rock FM’s Cash for Kids Mission Christmas toy appeal, for kids who may otherwise wake up with nothing to open on Christmas Day.
🎄🎁
209 extraction including endoscope-guided root retrieval. The tooth was causing sinusitis.
Sagittal fracture through diseased pulp horns three and four of tooth 111 (top right row at the very back of the mouth).
Imagine getting plastic stuck between your teeth and being unable to pick it out.... this was the case for this lovely horse, seen recently by dental vet, Sam. The plastic was causing painful trauma to the cheek and tongue. Treatment consisted of remedial rasping to reduce the slightly overgrown tooth 411 (top of the image) and partial widening followed by food (and plastic!) removal.
A recent case, treated just before Christmas.
Subtle signs of a dead tooth/ apical infection......you can see how, is not looking inside the mouth with a headtorch and mirror, this could be missed…the dark stained areas on the grinding surface are the root canals and in this case they have holes in them/are open (non-vital pulp exposures) and food has entered, causing decay (note the gas bubbles). There is also pus draining down the side of the tooth (buccal draining tract being probed).
⚠️ scenes of dentistry and infection ⚠️
Did you know... Horse's have very long teeth because they are designed to continuously erupt as they are simultaneously ground down by chewing fibre. This means that when doing a filling, the younger the horse, the deeper the cavity. The video shows a bulk filling technique using resin composite that will be worn down at the same rate as the rest of the tooth.
WARNING- INTERESTING VIDEO BUT OF A SURGICAL NATURE!
WHEN A TOOTH IS SO DISEASED THAT IT CRUMBLES UNDER ORAL EXTRACTION FORCES, LEAVING NOTHING LEFT FOR INSTRUMENTS TO GRASP, OUR PLAN B IS OFTEN A MINIMALLY-INVASIVE TRANSBUCCAL EXTRACTION (MTE):
An endoscope camera is placed in the mouth so that we can see what we are doing on a computer screen.
A keyhole incision is made in the cheek and a small metal tube is inserted through to the mouth, through which straight (rather than right-angled as with oral extraction) instruments can pass into the mouth.
Once loosened, a hole is drilled into the tooth (using a powerdrill with long drill bit, usually 5mm d.) and the hole is tapped to create a thread for a screw insertion.
The base of the screw, as with all of the instruments used throughout, remains outside the horse's cheek.
The base of the screw has a ledge and a slotted hammer is used to hit it in the direction away from the tooth, extracting it out of its socket, into the mouth. This is where you can see the slight vibrations in the video, just before the tooth starts to move. Once out, the screw is removed from the tooth and the tooth is removed out of the front of the mouth (it doesn't have to fit through the cheek), and the screw is removed from the tunnel and the tunnel itself is removed.
The keyhole incision is closed with two skin staples.
This technique was developed in Germany and its relatively recent introduction to equine dental surgery has saved 1000s of horses from undergoing more invasive surgical techniques which innately carry higher complication rates.
Galloping into the weekend as CHAMPIONS! 🏆
European pairs champions!
🦷 In conjunction with Morven from Stanley House Vets, we were recently involved in ensuring that this lovely pony’s teeth were in tip top condition to fuel her performance for the 2022 competition season ahead.
🏆 We were delighted to hear that she and her rider, Aaron, have been crowned overall under 12’s pairs champions at the STRUK European championships.
👏🏼 Well done team, and good luck for the world championships!
Charlie and Aaron and on the left in the video, celebrating their win.
🦷 Grade 5 infundibular caries in a kid’s pony. This means that the tooth has fractured secondary to decay which has weakened it down the middle.
🐴 As a horse chews sideways, the forces cause it to split. These decayed cavities can be drilled and filled if the decay hasn’t caused a fracture or root infection, but once the tooth has fractured, it requires extraction.
#equine #horses #equinedentistry
Infundibular caries & tooth root infection
Infundibular decay spreading right up to the apex, causing an infection which was draining back down the side, into the mouth.
Fractured incisor removal
These incisors suffered a kick to the mouth by another horse. The injury had opened up the root canal and allowed infection to ascend up to the apex. We opted to extract in this case as the injury occurred a few weeks ago without the owner realising (horses are so brave!)
Spring is almost here!
Spring is almost here and everyone is getting organised; we have limited March appointments remaining. To book yours, simply call or WhatsApp us on 01254476774, or pm our page and our admin assistant, Jess will organise an appointment for you.
Can anyone guess, or does anyone know what this is, being removed from an infundibulum prior to placement of a filling? 🦷
#equinedentist #equinedentistry #equinehospital #dentistry #dental #horse
This is possibly the most amount of tooth missing (due to decay and fracture) that I have seen. The small slither of clinical crown was extracted orally but fractured off, and then the remaining root portion of this tooth was extracted using the keyhole transbuccal technique (MTE). All three roots were still present, with a root infection, beneath the pink granulation tissue.
The pony was immediately eating better and brighter in herself according to her owner. #equine #equineveterinarydentist #equinevet #horse #pony #apexequinedentalsurgery
