Horse dentistry has been a neglected and misunderstood area of horse husbandry for far too long, leaving the situation wide open to widespread episodes of improper treatments, guesswork, and exploitation. Perhaps as many as 80% of domestic horses have dental problems. These include malocclusion (or failure of the grinding surfaces of upper and lower teeth to meet properly), overgrown incisors, loose and split teeth, abscesses, and periodontal disease. Dental problems do not only interfere with the horse's ability to chew and process food but often cause horses extreme and debilitating pain in the mouth, neck and poll. Physical, behavioural and performance issues such as weight loss, head tilting, bitting difficulties, stiffness, lameness, and rearing may be attributable, in part or in whole, to dental problems.

The most basic corrective dental procedure is called "floating." Floating requires using a rasp to file down sharp points, hooks and ridges resulting from misalignment of teeth. Back teeth (molars and premolars) are levelled to maintain symmetry and balance; surfaces are rounded to allow free chewing motion and to prevent edges from cutting the cheek or tongue. Advanced procedures include trimming front teeth (incisors), extracting and cutting teeth. Until the recent development of less cumbersome, power-driven tools that have made equine dentistry easier, safer and faster, performing equine dentistry required of the dentist strength, stamina, manual dexterity and courage!

As horse owners have come to realise the importance of solving dental problems quickly and at the outset so that their horses use their feed more efficiently, perform better and live longer, more productive, lives, there has been an increase in the demand for more attention to dental health. A greater awareness of the importance of routine equine tooth care has made equine dentistry a viable field of itself. Most equine dental practitioners recommend at the very least annual dental exams for all horses, starting from when they are foals. Horses with structurally unsound mouths may require assessment and treatment every six months.

Signs that a horse may have dental problems:
1. Does not gain or maintain good body weight.
2. Feed, even hay, found whole and undigested in the horse’s faeces (thus not have given any of its nutritional value to the horse).
3. Dropping feed while eating.
4. The horse may turn its head to one side or the other or lift its head up while chewing.
5. The horse pushes its head deeply into its feed as if to try to fill its mouth while eating.
6. Bucking, pitching, rearing, pawing or generally just having a poor attitude (may still have wolf teeth).
7. Resisting being caught, not accepting the bit, head tossing or twisting when bitted.
8. Not turning or responding well to the bit.
9. Chewing or grinding on the bit, having a busy mouth as if the bit is annoying.

A horse will do more for you when he is happy and comfortable than when he is in pain!