*Teeth And Oral Cavity
This subject is divided into sections organized by teeth (incisors, cheek teeth, canines), the oral cavity and the skull pertaining to the teeth. Th…
Category: Teeth and Oral Cavity System
Aging The Horse By The Teeth – Podcast #070
"Can Teeth Tell A Horse's Age?" - Several years ago, I asked owners with horses of verified age (papers or lip tattoos) to allow me to photograph the …
Canines – Calculus (Tarter)
Calculus is the accumulation of saliva and food debris that hardens and forms a crust on a tooth. Here it is formed on the canines of some male horse…
Canines – Debris
Calculus on canines are usually uniform, but in some horses, more feed becomes entrapped in the crusty material.
Canines – Decay And EOTRH
Canines in some older horses lose their integrity and decay. This is often associated with EOTRH but can also be from trauma.
Canines – Fractures
These teeth of male horses sometimes are placed against something harder, such as a steel stall bar. The result is fracture of the canine.
Canines – In Female Horses
Canines are found in almost every male horse (stallions and geldings) but are rare in female horses.
Canines – Just Erupting
Canine teeth of male horses (and occasionally females) can erupt anytime, but most commonly from before birth to 3 years of age.
Cavities and EOTRH In Horses – Podcast #107
"Cavities And EOTRH In Horses" - This podcast is a mix of two subjects. The first subject concerns oral care and teeth health in horses. I go over a p…
Cavities In Horse Teeth And More – Podcast #047
"Do Horses Get Cavities?" - I go over some of the recent articles showing up in the magazines and news feeds for horse owners discussing 1) cavities i…
Cheek Teeth – Calculus (Tarter)
Some horses accumulate saliva and feed in the sides of their cheeks that turns to hard calculus on the cheek sides of the first 1 to 3 cheek teeth.
Cheek Teeth – Cap (Deciduous)
The 12 premolar cheek teeth have precursor deciduous teeth (caps). The 12 molar cheek teeth do not have deciduous teeth.
Cheek Teeth – Cap Remnants
Deciduous teeth ("Caps") of young horses attach themselves to the underlying permanent tooth with tips of tooth. These often break off and remain bet…
Cheek Teeth – Displaced
Cheek teeth when not aligned with the rest of the teeth in the arcade are called displaced.
Cheek Teeth – End Stage
Cheek teeth have a finite lifespan and when they run out of reserve crown, there is nothing left to hold them in. These are end stage teeth.
Cheek Teeth – Eruption Bumps
When the permanent premolar cheek teeth push into position, they often cause lumps that appear on the face and lower jaw. These are normal and are no…
Cheek Teeth – Extractions
On occasion, the cheek teeth of horses need to be extracted, though in my practice, it is extremely rare.
Cheek Teeth – Foreign Objects
Foreign objects are usually organic (hay and other feed) that get stuck between the cheek teeth when an unusual gap exists.
Cheek Teeth – Fractures
Cheek teeth fractures are very common and are usually non-events in the horse's life.
Cheek Teeth – Hooks
Hooks are the over-eruption of a tooth and are seen when there is no opposition in chewing.
Cheek Teeth – Waves
An uneven occlusal surface along the arcade of cheek teeth is commonly called a wave. Some feel that the unevenness needs to be leveled however in my…
EOTRH – The Disease Affecting The Incisor Teeth Of Horses – Rounds With Doc T
Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis (EOTRH) is a new disease of horses affecting the health of all horses’ incisors and canine…
EOTRH, Donkey Dentistry, and Cheek Tooth Extractions – Podcast #092
"EOTRH - Equine Odontoplastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis" - This podcast covers three topics within the interest of dentistry in horses. EOT…
Equine Dentistry For 40 Years – Podcast #079
"40 Years Of Horse Dentistry" - Four decades of floating horses have filled me with experiences hard to gain from a textbook. In fact, in 1983, there …
General Dentistry – Chewing Motion
The chewing motion of horses can be affected by trauma to the head.
General Dentistry – Parrot Mouth
Parrot mouth only affects the relationship of the incisors to each other where the upper incisors are more forward than the lower incisors and complet…
General Dentistry – Sow Mouth
Sow mouth only affects the relationship of the incisors to each other where the lower incisors are more forward than the upper incisors and completely…
General Dentistry – Speculum Injury
The use of the speculum is common in equine dentistry. There are reports of damage to the horse caused by them and this is one of those cases.
Incisors – A Question From An Owner
A YouTube visitor asks me several questions about incisors and theories of equine dentistry.
Incisors – Abnormalities
Incisors are the nipper teeth and anything that is not normal is easily seen.
Incisors – Absence
The nipper teeth can be missing from 1) never being there, 2) the cap is gone and the permanent tooth has not erupted yet, 3) trauma, and 4) extractio…
Incisors – Calculus (Tarter)
Accumulation of saliva with feed is very common on the canines but not that common on incisors.
Incisors – Cap
All incisors have a precursor deciduous tooth that is displaced and ejected by the erupting permanent tooth below it.
Incisors – Cap Remnants
Some deciduous incisors leave remnants between the gum and the permanent incisor.
Incisors – Damage
Damage is common to the incisors because one of the primary purposes of these teeth is defense.
Incisors – Decay And EOTRH
Incisors usually do not decay except after trauma or if EOTRH is affecting the horse.
Incisors – Relaxed Space
When a horse is relaxed, their incisors are kept apart as seen in these photos. On average a horse chews 25,000 times a day. If each chew takes 1 se…