Dental Care For The Older Horse

Regular dental checks are just as important in older/geriatric horses as it is in a younger horse. If older equines have had regular dental checks throughout their life then they should have little or no problems however if they have not had regular dental care and they have gone years between checks then problems can occur and could be irreversible. For example if a tooth has become protuberant or dominant and the condition has not been noticed then over the years it can wear and/or destroy the opposing tooth or teeth.

Figs 1 - 3 show some examples which can result in tooth wear and premature loss.

Fig 1 shows a protuberant tooth which has worn away the opposing tooth.

Fig 2 shows a hook on the upper arcade and ramps on the lower arcade which have worn the opposing teeth and would block the forward and backward movement (ap movement) of the jaw.

Fig 3 shows very severe ramps on the lower arcade which have completely destroyed the upper teeth. It also shows protuberant teeth on the upper arcade which are wearing away the lower teeth.

Glen came to look at my two boys on Friday very calm and patient especially with my big TB who didn't make it easy. Glen took his time and explained everything.

Beverley Waller

A common problem that I come across is where a tooth has become loose through periodontal disease (gum disease) making the gum and/or the area around it very painful and swollen. Sometimes as the horse chews this tooth can move slightly making it very painful and possibly force the horse to stop eating. In some cases an equine’s tooth can be so loose it can literally just be plucked out by hand. Symptoms for periodontal disease can be a reluctance to eat, dropping of food or a foul odour coming from the mouth. These can lead to weight loss and other health problems.

Caries (equivalent to cavities in humans) can affect any age of horse but if left undetected or untreated for years can become extremely painful. They can also cause fractures as the centre of the tooth becomes weaker and decays and then the opposite tooth can strike and fracture it as the horse chews. As with all horses when they age the eruption rates of their teeth start to slow down meaning they have less reserve crown and so any corrective work that is carried out has to be done quite conservatively because once the teeth are taken out of occlusion (contact) with each other its highly likely that they will stay like that and the horse could struggle to eat its food.

Cupping out, which is where the enamel begins to wear away, can occur in the teeth from as early as sixteen years old although more often seen in equines in their early twenties. Equines that have had regular dental checks shouldn’t begin the cupping out process until their early to mid twenties. The usual procedure is to maintain or remove the opposing tooth out of occlusion (contact) to protect and prevent the wear of the cupped out/affected tooth.

The molars or cheek teeth are tightly packed together in rows known as arcades and remain like this throughout most of the horse’s life. However because teeth taper from top to bottom, as eruption continues gaps begin to appear between the teeth causing food to become trapped known as periodontal pockets which if left can lead to gingivitis, periodontal disease and possible tooth loss.

Each tooth within the horse’s mouth contains one or more chambers called pulp chambers. The function of these chambers is to house the nerves and blood vessels that bring vitality to the tooth normally the pulp chambers recede as the tooth wears so it never becomes exposed protecting against infection and disease. However pulp chambers can be exposed especially in the older horse by a number of ways;
• If too much tooth is removed through dental work or thermal damage especially as horses have less reserve crowns as they age.
• The effectiveness of the pulp tissue to do its job due to age related reduction in cells meaning less efficient blood flow.
• Through tooth trauma or fracture.
• Disease.
• Bacteria / infection.
• Increased pressure or wear from opposing teeth.
In older horses blood supply is less efficient in the pulp and exposure could lead to pulp necrosis inflammation and pulp death. Pulp damage and/or exposure is very painful for horses and in extreme cases can result in tooth extraction. By finding these problems early we can prevent the unnecessary suffering of equines.
As equine’s get older their eruption rates slow down and it can be harder to correct any problems so I would recommend that they have a dental check at least every 6 months to a year. Sometimes we can’t make an older horse’s mouth perfect but we can make them as comfortable and functional as possible.