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Taking radiographs of
mandibular incisors.
ing education meetings to keep up with new research
and learn about cases that critically address
dental issues found in horses and how we can best
address them.
Case in point, for many years it was common practice
to excessively reduce canine teeth. Over time
many people noticed that these teeth became
discolored and occasionally developed cavities.
Excessive reduction of a tooth opens up the living tissue
in the pulp chamber to bacteria and can cause
a tooth root infection. Once the tooth becomes
infected it will need to be extracted. Canine tooth
reduction is an unnecessary procedure that when
done to excess causes tooth damage and ultimately
pain and suffering for the horse. Care must be taken
when reducing any tooth to avoid opening a pulp
horn.
As horse owners we are the guardians and caretakers
of these noble, beautiful, benevolent creatures.
Dental disease is one of the most overlooked and
least recognized problems by horse owners because
it is not obvious and horses don’t always communicate
their pain in a way that we understand. We
can’t expect to keep the whole horse healthy if such
an important part of its health care is neglected. Put
as much time and thought into selecting your horse’s
equine dental professional as you do anything else
involving your horse Know what you are getting for
when you hire someone.
In the state of Florida, the “floating” of equine teeth
with manual hand-floats is permitted by non-veterinarians.
However, “Lay-floaters” are not legally allowed
to use motorized tools, sedate, perform surgery
or do extractions. While there are schools in the United
States where non-veterinarians can get training in
equine dentistry there is no legal pathway for a nonveterinarian
to get licensed to perform equine dentistry
in the true sense. You may see advertisements
for individuals that say they are “equine dentists” and
they may have letters like “CEqD” next to their names
but unless they are a veterinarian (have DVM or VMD
after their name) they do not have a state or nationally
mandated license to perform the work.
What can I expect to pay?
The cost can vary tremendously based on training
and region of the country.
A veterinarian must maintain
a DEA license, a state license and a state business
license to legally buy, administer and sell the sedatives
that are used during dental procedures. There
are no such requirements for “lay-floaters” or non-veterinarians
and it is illegal for them to do so. As equine
health care knowledge, equipment and procedures
improve it simply costs more to provide the service.
Most veterinarians who have a special interest in
dentistry have an extensive array of equipment that
is not cheap and must be maintained. You might be
surprised to find they use the same equipment you
would see at your own dentist. Going to dental continuing
education seminars and wet labs is expensive.
Some vets regularly spend $2000 or more a year on
these courses. Veterinarians are legally required to
do (30) hours of continuing education every two
years to maintain their veterinary licenses but most
do more because they want to keep up with current
advances and provide their patients with better
care.
Regardless of cost, no one wants to waste money
on substandard care, which is what you are getting
without a comprehensive exam as previously described.
Floating is only 20% of what a good veterinary
dental professional will do, so getting a thorough
annual dental from a knowledgeable professional is
a better value at twice the cost of an annual “float”.
Regular maintenance will prevent premature tooth
loss and more costly problems later.
Does your dental professional routinely attend dental
seminars and keep up with the latest information?
In Modern Equine Dentistry, the goal is to provide
“evidence based care”, not performing procedures
because that’s the way it’s always been done. It’s
important for dental professionals to attend continu-