Equine Veterinary Dental Services

06/24/2024

Can you spot the very unusual non-tooth related finding in these images? If you see it, where in the body is it located and what is it?

The horse came to us for tooth extraction and we had a bit of a surprise when these images popped up on the screen.

Bonus points if you pick out the diseased tooth.
More details and oral images will be posted tomorrow.

02/27/2024

Yesterday's patient was suffering from irreversible pulpitis. Outwardly this manifested as a resistance to rein pressure on the left side side of his mouth. These cases can often be tricky unless we find an obvious sore or fractured tooth in the mouth, which we didn't find on Bosa.

We did notice abnormalities with both of his upper canine teeth. One never erupted out of the gum tissue and one was only a little bit past the gums. As an 8 years old horse this is 2-4 years past the age these teeth should have fully erupted.
A deep pocket in the gums on the left side was present with a small amount of pus. Radiographs identified an early abscess.

Just like a hoof abscess these are VERY painful. There is a build up of pressure as the pulp tissue swells, but it can't expand due to the hard outer tissue of the tooth.

After extraction the dying pulp tissue was visible at the root end of the tooth and we carefully pulled out the whole pulp. The visual appearance leaves no doubt that this tooth was painful A healthy pulp should be a bright pink color.

We hope Bosa has a truly speedy recovery.

02/27/2024

Who can tell us what type of tooth is pictured here on the bottom and what is the dental structure in the top of the photo?

Answer will be posted tomorrow with the reasons why we extracted this tooth today.

02/20/2024

Have you ever met a one-mustachioed pirate?

Let me introduce you to Pirate B***y, more casually referred to as Boots. He is a recently adopted Mustang living his best well groomed life in Ohio.

He unfortunately needs some extra TLC when it comes to his teeth, but we love seeing him.

Does your horse sport a mustache? If so, drop it in the comments below. We will add some of our favorites as well.

02/14/2024

The difference between a horse’s permanent adult cheek tooth and a baby tooth are amazing. Yesterday, we removed these from a medium sized coming 4 year old pony.

The “cap” (deciduous tooth) was loose and ready to go. This cap was a lower 4th premolar. Unfortunately her upper 2nd premolar had an root abscess and a subsequent swelling on her face. Which prompted referral to us.

Fortunately, both came out routinely and this pony will be feeling better.

02/08/2024

We love all our patients, but some seek the spotlight more than others.

Meet Bennie, the oldest and biggest toddler we have ever met. At somewhere around 25 years old and at least 1500 lbs he really wants some one to PLAY and give him cookies.

10/30/2023

In addition to attending lectures this weekend Dr. Chiero and Dr. Reiswig attended a hands on training for residents. This group of board certified dentists and residents are all equine dental veterinarians from across the U.S., Canada, U.K., and Australia.

All working together and sharing knowledge so we can care for YOUR horses.

10/26/2023

Dr. Jeffrey Reiswig, Dr. Naomi Chiero and Emily our veterinary technician are enjoying some time away and learning tons at the annual Veterinary Dental Forum held in Louisville, Kentucky this year.

This annual meeting pools dental experts in multiple veterinary species from around the world to share their knowledge with each other and general practitioners as well. 🦷 🦷

10/04/2023

All animals need dental care. Amazing what dedication zoo vets and zoo staff have in order to build trust and train animals so they can provide stress free care. Spot on dental skills in this video!

09/07/2023

On Tuesday, Dr. Chiero, continued her many years of educating vet students at Ohio State University.

We are thankful for the opportunity to continue to provide training to future veterinarians.

09/01/2023

Guess the species of our recent patient... this was a first for us.

08/30/2023

Meet Jimmy, a miniature donkey who is pretty opinionated, sometimes to his own detriment.

At his last visit with Dr. Chiero, Jimmy decided to run the show, literally, as in run it and Dr. Chiero over.

Lucky for Jimmy his owner is a vet, who was willing to try again. He received some calming meds at home before trailering in and he brought his buddy Jack, along. Jack stayed beside him while getting his catheter, and walking in the stocks, and happily ate snacks nearby during Jimmy's procedure. Lots of our routine was adapted to keep Jimmy sleepy and comfortable. His fractured tooth was successfully removed and his whole mouth received a lot of TLC.

Does your horse need individualized care? That is what we do and we are happy to work with you. Even if your horse is an *$$.

08/28/2023

This past month we’ve had several patients with acute facial abscessation due to dental infections. These horses are very painful and severe swelling can develop very suddenly.

We work hard, along with your primary vet, to get these horses treated promptly.

This tooth shows how the infection tracked along the side of the tooth. The pressure created from the root abscess eroded away the bone at the bottom of the tooth to the outside of the face and along the cheek side of the tooth.

The cheek side of the tooth on the left has no ligament fibers left. The picture on the right is the tongue side of the tooth which is fully covered in ligament fibers. These fibers attach your tooth to the bone in the tooth socket.

08/23/2023

Instead of a big announcement we are celebrating a teeny tiny tooth today.

The real tooth fairy has visited the household of one of our docs recently. The six-year old in this recent business engagement wanted to make sure the transaction had a touch of extra care. So for your viewing pleasure please enjoy this tiny human incisor tooth next to a horse incisor.

And the notes exchanged between a 6-year and her very loving tooth fairy.

08/01/2023

Yesterday our little patient was too cool with her styling shoes. But, the really cool thing is her owner who runs Tender Touch Equine. This non-profit brings the magic of horses and the amazing cuteness of Mini’s to those who otherwise don’t have access. They visit nursing care facilities, hospitals, schools and libraries.

Not only do they take excellent care of their horses, but they are out serving the community in a unique way. If you want to support people doing good and spreading joy, then support this amazing group.

07/31/2023

When your patients have cooler shoes then you:

07/21/2023

This horse has pulp horn defects on 4 out of 5 of the pulp horns. Notice the last probed area is solid and the others are full of food.

The fermenting food created all the air bubbles seen on yesterday's video.

All these abnormalities indicate death and necrosis of the living part of the tooth called the pulp. The tooth had obvious signs of disease on radiographs and was extracted. He will no longer have intermittent nasal discharge on this side due to his recurrent tooth abscess and secondary sinus infections.

If caught early these can be treated and the tooth can be preserved instead of removed, just like in humans.

07/20/2023

What is going on with this tooth on the upper right side? Watch for the red arrow on the 4th tooth. This young horse has no current outward clinical signs related to dental disease. But, had a history of mild and intermittent right sided nasal discharge that went away with antibiotics.

This tooth was found during an routine preventative dental exam. Do you know the name of this pathology? Should we leave it alone or investigate further?

More videos and answers in a post tomorrow.

07/17/2023

Why radiographs (x-rays) are required to diagnose dental disease: lightning bolt shaped broken tooth. Yup, didn’t see that one coming ⚡️🦷.

This 5 year old horse is missing a tooth, still has a baby tooth and a slightly rotated central tooth. 🤔This prompted us to look deeper.

Without x-rays we would never guess the level of damage here. 🩻

07/12/2023

Why does every horse need annual dental care? This middle aged miniature horse is missing a last molar on each side of its lower jaw. As a result the upper last molars are SUPER tall and sharp! No one had looked, so no one knew.

If you don’t look, you don’t know.

07/10/2023

A great post from our good colleague from across the world. We see the same thing everyday. If you see symptoms call us. But even better? Utilize your trusted veterinarian to do annual preventative oral exams and dental care. Identifying problems early is always best.

06/30/2023

This horse's mouth looks normal on first glance, but thanks to the standard detailed exams at Miamitown Equine Veterinary Services this abnormal tooth was identified with an oral mirror.

Queso is a lesson horse at Great Parks and had a chronic wound that wouldn't heal. Radiographs (x-rays) determined the hole in the tooth was the source of the chronic wound on his jaw.

The silent, but long-standing disease caused this tooth to have an abnormal shape, making routine extraction impossible. The tooth was sectioned into pieces to remove it. All this was done with him standing, sedated, and pain free during his procedure.

06/23/2023

Dental issues can be hard to see in animals. This young donkey had a large swelling on her jaw, but due to her haircoat it was hard to see until it was big. Most of our patients never stopped eating, but this is definitely still painful and needs addressed.

The dead and abscessed tooth is causing the development of thick and reactive bone. The only curative treatment is extraction.

Thankfully, her extraction was a short procedure and she is now healing well.

06/21/2023

Attention veterinarians! Would you like to expand your knowledge of how to manage fractured teeth? Know what to do and when to involve the referral practice. Join along with Dr. Naomi Chiero on June 27th for a webinar hosted by VetPD.

Dr. Chiero is panelist with three other experts in the field from all across the globe. Visit www.vetpd.com for more information and see the address below for registration.

06/19/2023

Cuteness alert! Today, Little Fred came in for his annual dental visit, which he has faithfully done for many years. He is one perfectly fit older gentleman.

Minis require dental care just like any other horse and have a higher rate of dental disease than other breeds.

04/12/2023

If my horse has a tooth abscess, won't it get better with antibiotics?

Unfortunately, most of the time it won't; and antibiotics in most cases are not going to help and are not needed. Why?

By the time your horse has a lump, bump or drainage visible on the jaw or face the tooth abscessed weeks, months, or even years ago. There may have been a time where pain medications and antibiotics would have saved the tooth, but the horse rarely shows obvious signs of pain at this stage.

Now that there is a visible sign of an issue the tooth is usually DEAD!

This mare had a swelling that "went away" after antibiotics from her farm vet, then it came back. The antibiotics where a temporary solution and the skin healed, but the dead tooth remained. After extraction she healed up, WITHOUT antibiotics. Watch the video to see why these teeth will not respond to antibiotics, the tooth is dead and full of dead tissue and rotting food.

03/29/2023

Meet Goose, Goose is an 8 year old Quarter Horse who likes to keep his mind on sorting cows. Recently, he had trouble with pain during riding.

Two years ago he got a big lump on his jaw that was diagnosed as a tooth abscess, but with some medications it appeared better. However, he always had a scab on his lower jaw and occasional drainage. He hadn't seemed bothered by it until a recent episode during riding. We evaluated him and even though the tooth looked normal in his mouth x-rays show it is dead.

The scab was removed and you can see a needle going through a hole in the bone straight to the tooth. After a short visit to the clinic he is rid off his dead tooth. The bone can now heal as well.

In young horses only a small portion of the tooth is visible in the mouth, so to evaluate the whole tooth we have to look inside with radiograph.

02/17/2023

We're looking for testimonials we can add to our website, to let others know how you feel about our services. All are added anonymously (first name, last initial - or nameless if you choose). What do you have to say?

02/02/2023

11/30/2022

Check it out! Did you know that our skilled vets Dr. Chiero and Dr. Reiswig have been able to help multiple species over the years?

We love collaborating with the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.