Equine Dental Care

You may not have to do anything but its important to look a regular check can pick things up early. 
For a complete oral exam Carmalt sedates his patient so he can use a fullmouth speculum. This tool opens up the horses mouth completely and allows Carmalt to examine and feel every single tooth while he checks the chewing surface for open pulp chambers. He also uses a mirror and dental picks to check the chewing surfaces and to look for any areas of feed retention.
In addition to learning the animals age Carmalt has some routine questions for the owner Has the horse had any nasal discharge? Has there been any systemic disease in the herd? Where is this horse in terms of herd dynamics? Have you seen this horse dropping feed? Does the horses mouth appear tender when you bridle him or have you had problems under saddle? 

By the age or four or five horses teeth have grown to their maximum length but the teeth will continue to erupt until the animals essentially run out of tooth in their late twenties or early thirties. 
Wave mouth is a common problem associated with age that results from the teeth erupting at different rates often resulting in overly tall teeth on the bottom and slightly shorter teeth on the top.
While rasping or floating down the taller teeth is the usual remedy theres only a certain amount of tooth to work with and its not going to come back. Tooth loss is common in older horses but it often leads to more problems.
Its not the tooth thats lost were concerned about its the underlying teeth Carmalt explains. If you remove the upper tooth now theres no backstop for the underlying tooth the lower tooth thats in the same position on the arcade. So it supererupts and you end up with a wave mouth or a tall tooth that can create problems elsewhere.
Diastemata or abnormal spaces between cheek teeth is also a common condition particularly in older horses. Because these spaces fill up with feed they can lead to periodontal disease. Veterinarians can alleviate gum recession by flushing out the feed or by using perioceuticals drugs specifically developed to treat the bacterial infection and promote gum healing. 
The oral exam is also a chance for the veterinarian to determine whether floating is needed to smooth out the sharp enamel points that can