Tooth Care for Horses

the mouth.
Now of course we have to consider the horse himself. In my experience about 1 in 3 horses arent safe even to examine without some degree of sedation. Yes you can often get away with it but once youve put a gag in youve effectively given the horse a lethal weapon. He doesnt have to turn his head that far or that fast to knock someone out or worse. Ive only had this happen once while I was working on a horse but thats enough for me to be very certain I dont want anyone else to be injured.
Of course only a vet can legally prescribe sedatives to a horse so in many cases this is where EDTs have to call in backup. And please note Ive found  barely takes the edge off a nervous horse for dental work injectable sedatives are preferable.
Once the exam is complete we need to decide what were going to do with whatever weve found. Most horses especially those who are seen regularly will have a few sharp edges where the tooth has grown into sharp points as part of its daily wear pattern remember horses teeth grow down from the roots constantly through life and are worn away by the teeth opposite. If they dont line up properly side to side we get sharp edges and points usually on the outside by the cheeks at the top and the inside by the tongue at the bottom if the misalignment is front to back we get hooks at the front of the first cheek teeth usually on the top and ramps at the back of the last cheek teeth usually on the bottom. All of these changes can make it painful or difficult to chew if they are allowed to continue and sharp edges can cause mouth ulcers. Im sure everyone knows how painful those can be! Its even worse if a tooth is missing the opposite one will grow down into the gap. In severe cases this can cause tooth lock where the horse is unable to open its mouth because the overgrown tooth has locked into the gap left by the missing one.
If its just a matter of sharp edges or small hooks these can usually be fixed with a hand rasp however if theyre large a power tool may be required. Power tools come in two