CAROLYN Perkins MRCVS was one of four speakers at the recent CAFRE Health Conference which took place in the CAFRE Greenmount Campus. Perkins graduated as a veterinary surgeon in 2003 in London and in 2007 she and her husband set up a veterinary practice in Northern Ireland.

She went on to qualify as an Equine Dental Technician and in 2012 established the Equine Dental Clinic in Hillsborough. The clinic was Ireland’s first veterinary practice dedicated to equine dentistry.

In her presentation, Perkins began by explaining and describing the different teeth and parts of the mouth and the role they play. For instance, the incisors are used for grazing, self-defence and age determination.

IMPORTANCE OF CHECKING TEETH

There are a number of reasons why it is very important to get your horses’ teeth checked by a fully qualified equine dentist or veterinary surgeon. Horses’ molar teeth are continuously growing and this is one of the main reasons why teeth need to be checked.

The molars will grow and wear away at a rate of 2-3mm per year. Uneven wear on the molars can lead to sharp enamel points (SEPs) developing, these SEPs can cause ulceration of the cheeks and tongues. Molars should be angled between 13-30 degrees.

Dental disease can take any number of forms in horses, and correct and regular dentistry care is the best way of preventing and dealing with it.

NOTICING DENTAL PAIN

Perkins explained how horses have developed to disguise pain which can often make it very difficult to determine when there is an issue. Recent studies have focused on and investigated the facial or grimace pain scale. This scale provides pain diagnosis by evaluating the visual expression behaviour, including facial expressions.

This scale looks at the angle of the ear and the position of the eye / muscle above the eye. The scale works best if whoever is assessing the horse knows them very well and knows what their normal facial expressions are.

Perkins explained how horses continue to try to eat even when they are in a lot of pain so when weight loss and loss of condition become obvious the problem has most likely being on for a long period of time.

SIGNS OF DENTAL PAIN

EQUINE DENTAL DISEASE

Horses can suffer from a range of different forms of equine dental disease. Ulceration can occur on the cheeks or tongue as a result of SEPs. Ulceration can result in horses becoming more sensitive to being handled and causing problems when they are eating.

Complete or partial fractures are another form of equine dental disease and they are not something which should ever be ignored. However, Perkins said that extraction is not always required. She explained how she uses radiography and CT scans help her decide on the best course of action for each individual horse.

Peripheral caries (tooth decay) affects the outer layer of teeth. It can be successfully treated if the cause is identified and management changed, Perkins recommended that owners avoid feeding their horse a high sugar diet and maintain high standards of oral hygiene. Peripheral caries can also lead to secondary diastema.

Diastema is when there are abnormal spaces between dental structures. This is a very painful form of equine dental disease. Treatments options include widening, flushing and extraction.

Displaced teeth can also develop as a result of diastema and are a form of equine dental disease. Displaced teeth need to be very closely monitored and they often occur in a bilateral pattern.

Perkins listed a number of other forms of equine dental disease included Equine Odontonclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercremetosis (EORTH), supernumerary teeth, apical abscess and infundibular caries.

Perkins ended her presentation with three simple things owners can do to help improve equine dental hygiene and care.