DIRECTOR-LED EQUINE DENTISTRY
Dentistry
A horse's teeth erupt continuously and grind against each other for thirty years. Left alone, they develop sharp edges, gaps that trap food, and painful infections — and horses hide all of it, because a prey animal that shows pain gets eaten. Which is why the mouth needs looking at, rather than waiting to be told.
Why dentistry is a directorship at Atticus
At most practices, dentistry is something the vet fits in at the end of a visit. At Atticus it belongs to Penny Browning, our Director of Dentistry — three decades in equine practice, and the first veterinary nurse in the UK to qualify as an Equine Dental Technician.
That isn't a marketing arrangement. It means the person doing your horse's teeth has spent a career doing exactly this, and sits at the table where the practice makes its decisions.
What owners notice first
Most horses never tell you their mouth hurts. These are the ways it leaks out.
Quidding — a classic sign
"He's dropping his feed"
Often the mouth, not the schooling
"He's fussy in the contact"
"His breath smells"
Always worth investigating
Skin, allergy, parasites. We need to look.
"She's lost weight"
Something on one side hurts
"He tips his head to eat"
Undigested food in droppings"
Whole grains mean poor chewing
"There are balls of grass in the field"
He or she can't shew properly
Worth ruling the mouth out
"He's head tossing"
The commenest presentation of dental pain
"Something just feels off"
What a dental visit involves
A typical appointment takes half an hour, but this very much depends on what we find.
1
Sedation
2
3
4
A proper look
The work
We agree a plan
Almost always. Sedation removes the stress for the horse, relaxes the mouth, and make things easier for everyone.
Gag, headlight and mirror — every tooth, front to back, plus gums, tongue and cheeks. Not a hand and a guess.
Balancing the mouth rather than just taking off sharp edges, with anything more involved discussed first.
We'll show you what we found, explain it in clear language, and agree a plan. Welfare will be the first thing considered.
What we do
Routine care
For most horses, once or twice a year is the whole story.
-
Routine dental examination and rasping
-
Detailed dental examination
-
Motorised rasping and occlusal equilibration
-
Sedation for dental work
-
Wolf tooth removal
-
Removal of retained caps
-
Dental care plan and recall reminders
Treatment
Advanced work, done standing, at your yard.
-
Incisor and cheek tooth extraction
-
Minimally invasive extraction
-
Surgical extraction and buccotomy
-
Diastema widening, flushing and packing
-
Periodontal treatment
-
Infundibular and pulp horn restoration
-
Dental fracture management
Looking closer
When something isn't right, and a rasp won't answer it.
-
Oroscopic (camera) examination
-
Dental radiography at your yard
-
Sinus investigation related to dental disease
-
Assessment of quidding and dropping feed
-
Bitting and ridden problems related to teeth
Older horses
Where good dentistry makes the most visible difference.
-
EOTRH assessment and management
-
Dental care for veteran horses
-
Managing worn and missing teeth
-
Feeding advice for a compromised mouth
-
Weight loss investigation starting with the mouth
On who should do this
Some dental work can lawfully be done by a qualified equine dental technician, and some — extractions, anything requiring sedation or nerve blocks — must be done by or under the supervision of a veterinary surgeon. Not everyone offering "horse dentistry" is qualified to do so.
Ask whoever does your horse's teeth if they are a Registered Equine Dental Technician, and what they'd do if they found something beyond their scope of care. If you're not sure, you can check if your chosen practitioner is registered. We'd rather you asked us that too.
Both are covered here, in the same visit, by people who can show you their qualifications.