Jayme Harvey-Micay, DVM- Equine Dentistry

08/03/2023

As your horse ages, dental problems might develop that require changes to his diet.

18/02/2023

Dental pain can often be mistaken for behavior problems, so it is important for owners to understand the signs of dental pain and disease.

29/05/2022

This is really good info on bridle fitting from World Horse Welfare

https://storage.googleapis.com/worldhorsewelfare-cloud/2022/04/2437d0cf-guidelines-for-correct-bridle-fitting.pdf

02/01/2022

We’ll, it’s now a new year’s tradition- first patient of 2022 is a miniature donkey, again! Last year was this this little girl’s brother. little mouths and big teeth and baby donkeys who promptly let their mom know when chewing is a problem! A fractured retained “cap”was causing trouble for this sweet girl, but all good now!

17/12/2021

This is a really good idea- create a custom bridle to be sure it fits for maximum comfort for your horse.
So often a horse needs a different size for its crown piece or browband compared to his cheek piece length, etc.

Build Your Custom Bridle

07/08/2021

There were some surprise friends in this horse’s mouth the other day! 3 Bot larvae moving around in a periodontal pocket they formed between 2 teeth.
Once a horse ingests bot eggs, they develop into larvae that migrate through the tissues of the mouth before moving on to the stomach.
While usually temporary, these periodontal pockets can be uncomfortable for the horse and create areas for food impaction after the larvae leave.
It’s not uncommon to find the tracts left by the larvae, but I’m not often lucky enough to see the little guys moving around in there! They were removed and the pocket cleaned.

17/07/2021

During a dental exam the conversation often turns to bit fitting. It is helpful to take advantage of the sedation to measure the mouth and assess the palate, bars, etc. I have also started carrying a small selection of some different bits for clients to try.
I found this a helpful reference.
https://pferdesport.sprenger.de/fileadmin/Flyer/Pferdesport/Find-the-right-bit-in-4-easy-steps-2021.pdf

28/01/2021

Nothing like a cold winter day to finish up some online equine dental education! Covid times have made available some really excellent remote learning opportunities 😁

02/01/2021

And just so everyone can see that our little donkey friend was ok- this is a video of him eating shortly after his dental- all better!

02/01/2021

I usually tell people it’s hard to know when a horse’s mouth is painful. But apparently miniature donkeys are very good at expressing their feeling! This little guy let his owner know right away that his mouth had a problem! (See the previous post)

02/01/2021

My first patient of 2021 was a cute little miniature donkey 😍This was a case of “caps gone wrong” . One of his deciduous teeth ( baby teeth) was broken and instead of falling out, one of the pieces was cutting his poor little tongue!

18/07/2020

Today’s helper😍 She’s not scared of the dentist!

15/07/2020

ARE DENTAL EXAMINATIONS CONSIDERED PREVENTATIVE EQUINE HEALTHCARE?

The answer is YES. Routine dental examinations qualify as preventative equine healthcare just as much as foot care, nutrition, parasite control, and vaccinations. Like in humans, dental care and early recognition of dental disease in your horse could prevent major treatments and surgery. That is why dental healthcare is the most cost effective when the patient is examined by an experienced healthcare professional, such as a veterinarian.

Equine dentistry should not be confused with just tooth "floating." Dentistry is a veterinary discipline concerned with the diagnosis and treatment of mouth, teeth, and associated head structures. The goal of equine dentistry is to:
• improve mastication (the chewing process by which food is crushed and ground by teeth);
• provide comfort and pain relief;
• promote general health, productivity and longevity.

Horses over 5 years of age should be examined at least once a year to maintain correct dental alignment and to diagnose dental problems as early as possible. Senior horses (17+) are a greater risk for developing periodontal disease, and horses 20+ years old should receive dental evaluation and nutrition counseling at least annually in order to maintain their conditioning and quality of life.

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been causing the delay of non-essential appointments such as dental procedures, be sure to not skip your horse's dental examination this year. Just because your horse is not showing any obvious symptoms of dental disease, it does not automatically mean all is well with your animal's mouth health. Horses simply adapt to their discomfort and most horses with dental problems will show no noticeable signs at all, until the disease is severe.

11/07/2020

Surprise! There’s an extra tooth hiding in there😉

19/03/2020

I found this article very interesting. It is a summary of studies being done on pain indicators in horses. Particularly relevant is that many of these ridden behaviours are reasons that people seek dental work for their horses. Such as horses sticking out their tongue, head tossing, head tilt, etc. While often these symptoms can be teeth or bridle related, this also suggests that lameness or other sources of pain can cause these signs. This study used horses that had a known lameness that could be blocked ( pain alievated with a local anesthetic nerve block). The pain related behaviours, such as sticking out their tongue or head tossing, disappeared when the lameness was blocked.
While I certainly always encourage ruling out dental issues as source of trouble in the bridle, it’s not always an obvious answer.

https://thehorse.com/166291/identifying-behavioral-pain-indicators-in-ridden-horses/

Researchers found that both trained and untrained individuals can use a ridden horse ethogram to identify behaviors likely indicative of musculoskeletal pain, but being educated about the ethogram produces the best results.

07/03/2020

https://thehorse.com/120202/developmental-dental-disorders-in-horses/

Some developmental disorders can be dangerous and performance-limiting if not treated promptly and properly.

03/03/2020

03/03/2020

https://thehorse.com/110486/equine-dental-care-painful-points-and-uneven-arcades/

Here are some common dental issues that can negatively impact your horse's performance and how they can be corrected.

01/03/2020

https://aaep.org/horsehealth/everything-you-ever-wanted-know-about-equine-dentistry

By Mary DeLorey, DVM, Kettle Falls, WashingtonIt is common these days for horses to live into their thirties and beyond.  Their teeth, however, were really only developed to last into their twenties under optimum conditions.  Unfortunately, the majority of o...