*Teeth And Oral Cavity

This subject has sections organized by teeth (incisors, cheek teeth, canines), the oral cavity and the skull.

The “Aging Project” is where I photographed, in groups of about 8 to 10 horses each, horses with documented ages from 3 to 30+ years (about 225 horses). I photographed the incisors from both sides, from the front and the open mouth, onto the lower occlusal surfaces (about 900 photos). These views are from all ages, with each view per age group. Interesting results from this study affected my practice. I now only age horses by their teeth into five groups: young, young adult, adult, early senior and senior. Being any more accurate than this is not feasible, though you can be close with grouping.

There may be a lot of detail here that will interest those interested in horse teeth while being too much detail for others. Remember this – it is NOT how sharp the teeth are, but the horse’s perception of oral pain will determine if the horse benefits from routine dental care. “The Essentials Of Horsemanship Dentistry” is a course included in the membership or available separately. I also offer a school to teach people who would be legal in their state (the laws vary) to become capable of hand-floating teeth.

Dentistry in horses is my specialty. I have been looking at and feeling the teeth and mouths of horses since 1983 and providing dental care exclusively to horses since 1998. There are a lot of pictures on these topics. However, I have formed thoughts backed by experience and results that differ from the new ideas and theories proposed by reasonable people involved in horse dentistry. Therefore, this section may have differing opinions and fresh thoughts that counter what you read elsewhere.

Unfortunately, no other person or organization has asked me to debate or discuss my views, as people today are afraid of competing thoughts. Just look at politics if you don’t believe me. Equine dentistry is as divisive as politics. As my practice continues to grow, the overwhelming reason for calling me is because of the way I work with horses and the results I get. This style of dentistry on horses is better discussed elsewhere, but understand that what I discuss here is based on over 70,000 horses that I have worked on, plus the blessing of a veterinary education that taught me how to think and probe for better answers.

This subject and all of the topics on this site are to help you see things about horses more clearly and help us all become advocates for their horses.

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