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Teeth and equine dentistry

Undiagnosed dental problems are a major concern as they can seriously deteriorate unseen until the horse shows signs that there’s a problem

  • Last reviewed: 26th January 2024
Dentistcheck (1) Dentistcheck (1)

In collaboration with Chris Pearce MRCVS and the team at Equine Dental Clinic Ltd

 

Thank you for supporting Dental Awareness Week 2023

Working in partnership with the Equine Dental Clinic we were able to reach over half a million equestrians across five countries!

Its not too late to learn more and download your free digital Dental Awareness Week pack.

Don't miss your chance to watch the highly successful 'Moment of Tooth' webinar, with featured speakers, directors of the Equine Dental Clinic & Specialists in Equine Veterinary Dentistry Dr Chris Pearce & Dr Nicole du Toit.

Dentist Gag

Watch

The Moment of Tooth webinar

No pain? Check again

Horses are stoic animals, which means they can endure pain for long periods of time without showing signs, especially with pain related to teeth. This could unintentionally mean that many horses could be suffering in silence. 

Prevention is better than cure and identifying minor or early problems avoids more complicated issues in the future. It’s important to maintain regular dental health checks throughout your horse’s life by a veterinary surgeon, an Equine Dental Technician registered with the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians or category 2 members of The World Wide Association of Equine Dentistry. 

We recommend dental checks a minimum of once a year to make sure any problems are treated quickly.  This recommendation will vary for older horses or those that have specific abnormalities. 

The benefits of regular dental checks

  • Keep your horse eating efficiently
  • Early intervention is better (and likely cheaper) than dealing with a major dental problem
  • Make sure your horse is kept pain-free - there may be no signs 
  • Prevent the likelihood of tooth loss and other dental problems in older age
  • Avoid bitting problems, especially when introducing the bit to a horse for the first time

 

Signs of dental problems

The early signs of dental problems are very subtle and often the horse will not show any outward signs that anything is wrong. When horses eventually show outward signs of dental discomfort, the problem may have been developing for quite some time. Signs include:

 

 

Amazingly, many horses show absolutely NO signs of even advanced dental disorders.

Signs related to ridden evasion or resistance can commonly be misinterpreted as bitting or tack issues - the first thought should be to check if your horse is in pain.

Dental checks

It's important your horse has regular dental checks so that potential issues can be handled as soon as possible.

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Get in touch – we’re here to help 

The Horse Care and Welfare Team are here to help and can offer you further advice with any questions you may have. Contact us on 02476 840517* or email welfare@bhs.org.uk – You can also get in touch with us via our social media channels. 

Opening times are 8:35am - 5pm from Monday – Thursday and 8:35am - 3pm on Friday. 

*Calls may be recorded for monitoring purposes.