03/07/2025
Sedation for dentistry, dental technicians and collaboration.
Yesterday we posted a short reel of a referral case kindly referred to us from a general equine veterinary practice - the reel showed a deep ulcer on the horse’s tongue and demonstrated the value of sedation in such cases by giving the horse a relaxed and comfortable experience, helping with (and essential for) the diagnosis and treatment of the condition.
It’s important to give some context to that post which was not explained in the text. While our approach to dentistry includes sedation to ensure a relaxed and comfortable experience for the horse, and is essential for referral cases, we deeply value the important role that trained and qualified equine dental technicians (EDTs) play in equine dental care, and we fully respect the skill and dedication that properly trained and qualified EDTs bring to their work. We very much see our role as specialist dental vets as complementary to this, a collaboration. There is no question that the general dental health in the UK is far superior to that in many other countries and we believe this is due to both well trained dental vets and qualified EDTs (from both BAEDT and WWAED) working together.
This collaboration ultimately benefits horses and we are always open to working together in ways that support everyone involved. Our dental health campaign ‘No Pain Check Again’, which will run again later this year, produced in collaboration with the BHS, highlighted this approach and referenced the importance of both vets and EDTs in supporting equine welfare through good dentistry and sending a message that regular check ups and good routine dentistry are key to long term dental health.
The message from the reel yesterday was in no way meant to undermine the value of this collaboration or diminish the respect that we have for fully trained and qualified EDTs in the UK and the role they play in keeping horses in optimum dental health.
[It’s also important to recognise and underststand that EDTs are not legally permitted to sedate horses (sedatives and other licensed medicines must only be administered by a vet)]
edentalclinic
