We will rasp your horse’s teeth and leave you with a copy of the dental record sheet, so you can see what has been done and can refer to it in the future.
Most horses just require the sharp enamel points rasping on the outside edge of the upper cheek teeth and inside edge of the lower cheek teeth.
When the horse’s mouth or teeth are abnormal, then more extensive work may be required. If the problems are only minor, then they may be resolved with hand rasping. However, more significant abnormalities require additional equipment to correct the abnormality. We use two types of electric grinding machine in the clinic, a Powerfloat and a Dremel. The use of electric grinding equipment in the horse’s mouth should only be done with the horse sedated and restrained.
When individual teeth become severely damaged or diseased they may require removal. This may be possible using standing sedation and oral extraction. However, often when upper cheek teeth require removal, they have such weakened clinical crowns ( the bit of the tooth visible in the mouth ) that they cannot stand the process of oral removal. Additionally, since the roots of these teeth are located in the sinuses, there is often a secondary sinusitis. Surgery is required for the sinus infection so the tooth is often extracted under anaesthesia at the same time.
We see much more dental disease in the horse, these days. This may be the result, in part, of the modern diets that horses are fed but there is also a contribution from the fact that more people are looking in horses’ mouths these days and therefore, finding disease that may not have been noticed before.
Our techniques for treating the problems in the horse’s mouth are improving all the time, however, prevention is always better (and cheaper) than the cure. Regular inspection and rasping can help prevent much more serious disease in the future. Annual teeth rasping is the ideal way to achieve this. Only horses with the more severe problems require attention more frequently than annually. If you are recommended to have 6 monthly rasping but your horse has a normal mouth you should question why this is necessary. Removing sharp enamel points on an annual basis is justifiable, the cheek teeth in the horse are finite structures and we should not remove anymore of the tooth than absolutely necessary, since once it’s worn out, there is nothing to replace it.
We can deal with the full range of dental conditions at the clinic, we have the equipment and the expertise to give your horse the best treatment for its dental condition, whether its a wolf tooth or a cheek tooth extraction; a simple rasping or a significant dental re-alignment through to a complicated sinus infection.
