Dental Vet

21/10/2026

Exciting to see our endodontics work featured in the Equine Veterinay Journal's 'Special Focus Edition: Equine Dentistry and Sinus Disease', which is apparently free to read for 90 days!!! So get stuck in while you can!

It is so wonderful to see the explosion of research and data, new techniques, new materials being developed in equine dentistry to be able to better help our patients. It has been a wild ride- 20 years ago it was so exciting when (every few years!) a dentistry paper would come out, some new information, a study someone had done... Now it seems like weekly there is something new which is just so wonderful to see! 15 years ago I would not have believed you if you had said that the EVJ would be doing an entire Journal on just equine dentistry, yet here we are! :)

I feel so fortunate to have been on (and contributed in a small way!) to this journey of growth and discovery, to see how many more options our patients have these days and how much pain and pathology can now be PREVENTED by early detection and intervention. Keeping up with the latest is so important, especially in such an emerging field. Such a great time to be a part of this wonderful profession.

https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/evj.70318

19/10/2026

Interesting case we saw recently! EOTRH in the cheek teeth!

Apologies for the blue but it just stops Facebook from blocking it because of the colour!

17/10/2026

And to finish our "guide to equine anatomy" series, we are touching on what an abnormal tooth looks like.

Some dental disease appears dramatic. We may find a large fracture, deep feed packing, a mobile or severely displaced tooth, severe decay or obvious gingival infection.

Other changes are tiny. A black pulp horn, a narrow fissure, missing cementum, or a subtle change in surface texture may be the only visible warning of some very painful dental disease.

A thorough oral examination with sedation, a light source and a mirror (or endoscope) at the minimum is required to systematically examine all the teeth, the gums, the spaces between the teeth, the cheeks, the tongue and the remaining oral tissue. Where findings remain uncertain, radiographs or further diagnostic imaging may be required.

The aim of any dentistry is to preserve healthy anatomy, treat pathology and pain early and maintain comfortable, effective chewing throughout life. By identifying and treating disease early, we can often preserve both the teeth and their function for longer, helping horses continue to chew comfortably well into old age.

16/10/2026

Today in our anatomy series we will be discussing incisors in more depth.

Incisors grasp and cut forage. Their visible surfaces change markedly as the teeth wear and age.

The cups within the incisors become shallower and eventually disappear. Dental stars, areas of secondary dentine that protect the pulp, become more visible.

The shape of the biting surface also changes. So does the angle at which the upper and lower incisors meet. Considerable variation can occur between individual horses.

These features are not automatically signs of disease. Fractures, marked mobility, draining tracts, swollen gums, severe asymmetry or painful resorptive lesions are different and require investigation.

A naturally dark dental cup should also not be confused with an exposed, infected or dead pulp. Both are large black holes in the teeth, but one is completely normal, and the other is likely a painful, infected tooth! This is why a thorough examination by a knowledgeable veterinarian is so essential.

16/10/2026

Happy World Endodontic Day!! A day to celebrate the amazing specialty of endodontics (root canal therapy) and the importance of saving natural teeth wherever we can! We are passionate about saving teeth at Dental Vet and have now published 2 articles on the new material we developed for endodontic therapy in horses. You never stop learning and it is so exciting to be helping to push the boundaries of what we can do to better help and treat our patients. 😊

15/10/2026

"Guide to dental anatomy series" - welcome back to another post. Today we are discussing pulps and infundibula.

Inside each tooth is a living pulp system containing nerves, blood vessels and cells that produce protective dentine.

Equine cheek teeth contain between five and seven pulp horns beneath the grinding surface. Their connections and positions form a complex internal system that changes as the horse and tooth age. (Green arrows in image are normal pulps, red arrows are abnormal)

Upper cheek teeth also contain two infundibula. These are deep, enamel-lined structures that should normally be completely filled with cementum.

On the grinding surface, healthy infundibula usually appear as light-yellow cement-filled areas surrounded by enamel (pink arrows). If the cementum is incomplete or missing, a cavity is left behind where feed can become trapped and ferment.

This fermentation gradually breaks down the remaining cementum, resulting in infundibular caries. Left untreated, the decay may progress deeper into the tooth, increasing the risk of fracture or, in advanced cases, infection involving the pulp.



Colour is one of several features we assess, but it is never considered in isolation. We also examine the depth and texture of the defect, the surrounding enamel, and its relationship to the pulp system to determine whether the change is within the range of normal anatomy or clinically significant disease.

14/10/2026

Today in our “Guide to equine anatomy” series we will be discussing the different tissues that make up your horse’s teeth.

A healthy cheek tooth is closer to a serrated grinding plate than a polished table. Its working surface contains enamel, dentine and cementum, which wear at different rates.

Enamel is the hardest and most wear-resistant tissue. It runs through the tooth in complex folds. As the surrounding tissues wear more quickly, enamel remains slightly raised. These ridges act as cutting edges during chewing. The lower areas between them help compress and break apart the feed. Together, they form the functional grinding surface.

Dentine is softer and forms much of the tooth’s body. It supports the enamel and protects the living pulp system beneath the grinding surface. Small brown areas on the surface commonly represent secondary dentine covering the pulp horns. These marks are normal when they remain firm, intact and appropriately coloured. A black, soft, open or irregular area is different. This may be the only detectable sign of a dead, infected, abscessed tooth.

Cementum coats the outside of the clinical crown. It also fills the infundibula found within the upper cheek teeth and incisors. Cementum is softer and less wear-resistant than enamel. It contributes to the self-sharpening surface, but it is also particularly vulnerable to demineralisation and dental caries.

13/10/2026

Welcome back to our second post in our ‘Guide to equine anatomy’. If you missed yesterday’s post, feel free to go back and catch up. Today we are discussing how your horse’s teeth both wear and erupt at the same time.

Horse incisors and cheek teeth are hypsodont, meaning they have very long crowns. In a young horse, much of the crown remains below the gumline as reserve crown.

The tooth gradually erupts into the mouth as chewing wears away the exposed surface. Research suggests that cheek teeth generally wear at a rate of around 2-3 millimetres per year.

This is often described as continuous growth. However, once the ameloblasts have finished laying down the enamel part of the tooth, they die off, meaning once the tooth is formed, no more enamel can be produced. So while the teeth continue to erupt, and dentin and cementum do continue to be produced to allow for this continued eruption, the teeth actually get shorter with age!

Understanding that a tooth has a finite lifespan matters because every reduction removes tissue that cannot be replaced. Some occlusal work is needed in almost every horse to address sharp points, overgrowths, malalignment or changes contributing to periodontal disease. However, it should be targeted and limited to what is clinically necessary.

Indiscriminately flattening the natural ridges does two kinds of harm. It removes the textured surface the horse needs to crush fibrous feed, much like trying to cut hay between two sheets of glass. It also uses up more of the tooth’s finite crown, potentially shortening its functional life and making effective chewing more difficult as the horse ages.

Image credit to Frontiers

12/10/2026

Welcome to our 'Guide of Equine Dental Anatomy.'

This week we will be sharing something every day about your horse's dentition so we can all learn a bit more about their teeth!

Understanding normal equine dental anatomy helps explain why we examine every surface carefully and also explains why floating should never mean making the teeth look smooth.

Most owners can see the incisors at the front of the mouth. However the harder-working cheek teeth sit much further back and can only be properly assessed in a sedated horse with a full mouth speculum, good lighting and a mirror or an oral endocope.

At first glance in the oral cavity, your horse's teeth can look surprisingly rough, uneven and stained. This is often completely normal.

Unlike human teeth, equine cheek teeth are not designed to form a smooth, white surface. Their raised ridges, darker centres and shallow basins create the rough grinding surface needed to break down coarse, fibrous feed.

Come back tomorrow to learn some more

09/10/2026