Unlike humans, horses' teeth continually erupt throughout life and this can lead to abnormalities of wear and eruption that are very different from the problems seen in human dentistry. Horses are also susceptible to dental abscesses and these can often be prevented by early detection of disease such as infundibular caries and periodontal pocketing. A thorough dental examination is just as important as routine rasping.

For some horses dental checks will be required annually, however many horses will require 6 monthly checks, especially those that are young, old, competing regularly, or those that have significant dental abnormalities such as missing teeth.

We find that the quality of work that can be carried out is often limitted by the horse's tolerance to dental work. Using sedation and modern, battery-powered dental instruments, we can now correct abnormalities more effectively than before with minimal stress to the horse. At Stable Close Equine Practice this is our preferred method of performing routine dentistry.
 

How about using an equine dental technician?

There are some excellent equine dental technicians (EDTs) in Hampshire and we regularly work with several of them. We are happy to work with all EDTs who are members of BAEDT (listed here). If you want to understand what procedures can be performed by EDTs, you can download a useful document here. If you want any advice about choosing or using an EDT, you are welcome to ring us for advice.