DENTISTRY

EOTRH stands for Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis. It is a painful condition affecting the dental tissues of the incisors and canines (front teeth). Most commonly, it is diagnosed in older horses (>15 years old).

Winter in this country is a beast. As I write this, we are into our 4th blast of snowy and cold weather already this fall (did I count right?), and it seems that winter is already well on its way to settling in. So a blogpost about proactive winter horse care may already seem a little past tense, but if you’re like me and living in denial that summer is already well past and fall quickly disappearing, you will have a few horse health care items to check off your list!

As many of you are aware, one of Dr. Butters’ special interests is equine dentistry.  Knowing this, one of our fantastic clients generously provided us with a wonderful and very interesting skull specimen that we wanted to share.

This skull is from a stallion that lived in a wild/feral state west of Cochrane.  Our client knew the stallion, and relayed that he died during the very cold, deep snow winter we experienced several years ago.

Dr. Butters believes she knows what may have contributed to this early death.

Finding the right person to provide dental care for your horse can be confusing for some owners. Proper dental care can be the key to maintaining overall health in many horses and, just as with other important areas of equine health, owners should consult with an equine veterinarian about best health-care practices. 

To help you make an educated decision about who provides your horse’ s dental care, it is helpful to know the extensive education, in-the-field and on-the-job training and continuing education that veterinarians complete in order to provide the high level of professional health care that each horse needs. 

Like humans, horses get two sets of teeth in their lifetime. The baby teeth (also called deciduous teeth) are only temporary. Normally, a horse will have a full set of baby teeth by the age of 9 months. These teeth will start to be replaced around the age of 2 1/2 years. By the age of 5 most horses have their full complement of permanent teeth.

Veterinarians recommend that your horse’s teeth be examined at least once per year - this applies whether or not there are any manifested signs of dental problems. Horses with dental problems may show obvious signs such as pain or irritation or they may show no noticeable signs at all.