Routine & Advanced Dentistry

Routine dentistry

The vets at Phoenix Equine all have a keen interest in equine dentistry. We regularly attend courses run by leading Specialists and all carry full dental equipment to enable us to perform detailed examinations and treatment on all equine patients from shires through to donkeys and miniature Shetlands.

Good dentition is vital for the overall health and welfare of your horse and to allow it to reach its full ridden potential.  Dental checks are recommended at least annually as part of a basic healthcare regime for all horses. This gives us the best chance to detect any problems before they become severe enough to cause your horse to show outward signs of discomfort such as quidding, dropping food, weight loss, evasion of the bit, leaning on one rein more than the other, head tossing etc. Once a horse starts to show these signs of oral pain the disease process within the mouth has often been established for some time and this may make it more difficult, costly and uncomfortable for the horse to resolve.

Phoenix Equine are able to provide oral examinations, routine floating (tooth rasping), remedial dentistry including diastema and periodontal disease treatment, oral endoscopy (to show you a live video feed of what is going on inside your horse’s mouth), oral radiography (X-rays) and minor surgery (such as wolf tooth extraction) all out on your yard if the facilities are suitable.

All work, including the full oral examination, is performed under light sedation for multiple reasons:

• It gives the best chance of detecting abnormalities in the mouth.
• It is less stressful for the horse.
• It makes examination with a metal speculum safer for the vet and the handler.
• It facilitates painful procedures such as flushing of diastema to be performed more comfortably for the horse.
• It ensures that sharp and abrasive power tools can be used far more safely in the mouth preventing unnecessary damage to the delicate tissues of the mouth.

Advanced dentistry

As well as carrying out high quality routine dental work, we are able to diagnose and treat many of the more complicated dental conditions seen in horses. Our practice is well equipped with the latest dental equipment including a digital dental oroscope. Such conditions and procedures include diastema and extractions of diseased cheek teeth (diastema are gaps between the teeth which accumulate rotting food material and lead to gum disease, loosening of teeth and tooth root problems).

More advanced treatments can also be offered at our Filham Park clinic by our visiting equine dental specialists.

These treatments include:

• Endodontic therapies
• Cheek teeth restorations
• Complicated extractions

For cases requiring more advanced diagnosis or treatment or needing hospitalisation we work closely with the equine dental Specialists at B&W Equine Hospital and Western Counties Equine Hospital. 

One advanced dental diagnostic tool available at B&W Equine Hospital is CT (Computed Tomography) scanning of the head.  CT is a sophisticated imaging technique that uses a rotating X-ray machine to produce high resolution, cross-sectional images of the head including the tooth roots and sinuses.