Heather Bo is an equine dental maintenance provider that has been in practice for 10 years now and always works with an equine veterinarian.  We provide complete dental care for all horses and the working relationship between an equine dental provider and  the veterinarian has proven to be an invaluable resource to all of our clients.  This working relationship is in the best interest of the horse and all needs, whether they be dental or otherwise, can be met with the multitude of services available at our fingertips. The veterinarians I work with provide the sedation that is needed in order to do the work properly, and to keep your horse comfortable and safe.

There is a documented shortage of large animal veterinarians in the state of California and to ask the large animal veterinarian to add to an already burdened practice would jeaporadize the quality of dental health care that the equine would receive.  In most cases the dental needs will be put off, not done and even worse, inadequate work will be performed.  I have seen this, and this statement is based upon fact.  The large animal veterinarians that I work with validate this statement. 

The equine dental needs of horses are specific in nature, and there are numerous procedures other than taking off the sharp edges in the mouth.  Most veterinarians will only take off the sharp edges and then some may address the occlusal surface  of the molars and then they do not do what is called a bite alignment.  The end result is a horse that is left with molar tables that do not meet, they have effectively created a gap between the molars, making the process of chewing nearly impossible.  This will also lead to other anatomical problems with the horse as they begin to compensate for the discomfort they may be feeling.

Dental maintenance should be done every 6 months beginning as a yearling and thereafter.  Due to the eruption of the teeth in horses and due to the fact that different molars erupt at different ages, beginning at age two, the first set of molar caps will need to be checked and thereafter on a 6 month basis. 

Equilibration or "balancing the mouth" is an important component to helping and keeping your horse's mouth healthy and pain free.  Oral exams by a qualified equine dental provider and a supervising veterinarian should be done every 6 months and the equine dental provider should be checking for occlusion, sharp edges on the molars( buccal and lingual), angles of the molar tables, which affect the overall occlusion, wave, ramping (caudal and raustral), steps, cavities, periodonatal pockets, periodonatal gum disease, cracked or broken off molars and incisors, and finally wolf teeth.

Your horse's health and well being is in part dependant upon good oral health.  We have scheduled appointments for the farrier, for vacinations, worming, so it only makes since to have an equine dental provider on that schedule to maintain the dental health of your horse. 

 Malocclusion of equine teeth- molars

     This is a great x ray showing the effects of a malocclusion.  This malocclusion will affect how well and in most cases, how poorly a horse with this kind of occlusion eats.The 408 is very high, causing the mouth to be completely out of occlusion.  If a horse with a mouth like this does not receive proper dental work to put the mouth back in occlusion then the probable outcome is uneven wear of the molars, which is already occuring. There is an increased likelyhood of breaking or fracturing a molar due to this type of malocclusion and uneven wear. This could also lead to mobile teeth, food impaction which can lead to periodontal pockets, which can then lead to periodontal gum disease.  There is a cascading effect when proper dentistry is not done on a regular basis.

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Thank You,

Heather Bo/ Equine Dental Provider