General Problems

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General Problems

A horse’s teeth may suffer from several problems: some of them may affect just one single tooth whilst others may involve more then one. Probably the biggest difference between human teeth and equine ones is the fact that our teeth reach a certain size and then stop growing. This is not true for horses. They only apparently look the same length. They have a reserve crown hidden in the mandible for the lower teeth and one in the maxillary bone for the upper teeth. A 5 year-old horse may have a reserve crown up to 6-7 cm long (2¼-3 inches) [Img.1]. Every year the tooth grows about 2-3 mm, and it is simultaneously ground down by the same amount. That’s why what we can see of the horse’s teeth is more or less the same length because it is actually the reserve crown that gets worn down.

Secondly, a horse’s teeth have the ability to store "secondary dentin" at the extremity of the pulpar chamber. This prevents the pulpar chamber from being exposed by the strong grinding action of the teeth, thereby avoiding any external contamination to the inner part of the tooth. This continuous growing of the teeth must, therefore, be considered like an equation. It is not uncommon to find that a tooth is worn down less than others or its growth pattern is slightly different to the norm [Img.2]. These facts can easily lead to "occlusion problems". And due to this permanent growth what starts out as a small predicament can become a serious problem within a very short space of time.

A horse’s mouth is a dynamic phenomenon; the mandible is capable of moving up and down as well as from side to side and these two movements combine into a rotating, grinding motion. Combine this with the fact that the teeth continue to grow (erupt), and thus are worn down all the time, what we have are wear patterns which cause nutritional problems and/or problems for the rider. The most common and re-occurring problem associated with the growth pattern is caused because the upper teeth are wider than the moving lower mandibular teeth, causing sharp points to form on the edges of the molars[Img.3].

When pressure through bitting and/or tight nose bands is applied, the cheek is pushed into these sharp points, causing uncomfortable bruising and lacerations to the cheeks. On the first premolars in the upper arc it is not uncommon to find an overgrowth of the tooth along its rostral edge forming a sort of "hook" (see Fig B). This is what happens when the horse’s head is forced into the wrong position for long periods of time, held up rather than allowing it to descend towards the ground. The mandible slides back a few millimetres and the occlusion surface of the first premolars becomes incomplete. Therefore the upper premolars lack contact by as much as several millimetres with the lower ones. Here the ongoing tooth growth will cause the slow but inevitable formation of "hooks" [Img.4].

These sharp points and hooks should be routinely levelled by a qualified and certified professional equine dentist as part of your regular equine dental care (I strongly advise against calling in untrained/unqualified personnel, as enormous damage can be done to a horse’s mouth by excessive treatment and guesswork).