Alice and her teeth!

[poiuytrewq]

In case anyone is interested!
This is my poor little mare having her incisors filled! We set up surgery in the machinery shed on the farm as there was a lot of kit to be set up and electric needed. A stable would have been quite cramped.
Out of the 6 lower teeth 4 had deep fillings, one a mostly surface and the other was still sealed on top so didn’t need doing .
Took about 2 hours. The worst bit was the nerve blocks which have to go up a little channel in the jaw to the nerve. She was sedated and had local anaesthetic first but still made it fairly clear she didn’t enjoy that part.
A little pain there meant the whole process in general was not felt though so worth it!
The holes were drilled out with kit the same as a human dentist! Very throughly cleaned (which at times made me feel a bit )
A few were really manky and probably infected.
Then some stuff which I can’t member the name, something hydrochloride maybe was packed in to kill off any remaining infection.
Finally the tops were all sealed up.
Hopefully this should be a permanent fix but there is a chance they may need removing at some point, we figured she is only 10 and that could be a long time with no teeth so would do what we could to keep them functional!
She came round quickly, ate normally. All looking good in her mouth so

 

[poiuytrewq]

after wards eating scraps in the pony pen to test drive her new gnashers!

 

[Tiddlypom]

Gosh, what a big do! That’s amazing. Thanks for posting,

Mine had two back molars filled, but as they were so high up I could only see the progress on the camera. You get a really good view of those incisors.

My mare also had two dead and infected lower incisors with those black dots in the middle but they were beyond saving.

Is that it, her teeth for done now?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

She certainly looks good in the after pics!

I love the high-tech equipment!

 

[BurntontheoutsideTurkey]

The tubing to hold the jaws apart is genius! Really interesting, hope she feels better now.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Gosh, what a big do! That’s amazing. Thanks for posting,

Mine had two back molars filled, but as they were so high up I could only see the progress on the camera. You get a really good view of those incisors.

My mare also had two dead and infected lower incisors with those black dots in the middle but they were beyond saving.

Is that it, her teeth for done now?

Yes hopefully, unless she gets abscess’s or infection.
He will be back in 6 months to check everything. The top incisors will need filing every 6 months but hopefully just routine regular dentals.
If it fails then they will all be removed but he said it all went according to best plan.

She certainly looks good in the after pics!

I love the high-tech equipment!

I know. I was really impressed that he had the same stuff as a normal human dentist, then pulled out his mouth opener!

The tubing to hold the jaws apart is genius! Really interesting, hope she feels better now.

Yes I was a bit but it’s the perfect thing actually. Soft so no damage to the back teeth. She didn’t like it much at first!

 

[SEL]

Ooh fascinating.

I really enjoy watching vet procedures but generally prefer them to be on a horse i don't own! Hopefully she'll feel better now that's all done

 

[Alibear]

Really interesting and glad it all went well. My old boy lost all his top incisors over a few years, all gone by age 13 but stayed happy and a reasonable weight living out until he was 24.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Really interesting and glad it all went well. My old boy lost all his top incisors over a few years, all gone by age 13 but stayed happy and a reasonable weight living out until he was 24.

That's young? Do you know why that happened?
I'm not too paniked at the thought of loosing them if and when the time comes. My real fear had been that her issues were caused by disease and were going to cause on going expensive problems.I had a horse with EORTH and it was just hideous.
She appears to be a fairly good doer and her teeth wouldnt have been overly efficiant at grazing anyway so I'm confident that if worst comes to worst and we remove them she should be ok.

 

[Alibear]

Mine had, had a kick to the jaw as a youngster before I brought him so one incisor never actually came through, that had to be surgically removed and then it left a gap so the others worked loose over time one by one like a row of dominos.

 

[Tiddlypom]

I expect that you’re already on it, but do get her seen promptly by a good bodyworker after all that necessary but unnatural positioning on the chin rest for the dental work.

My two oldies now get dentals and chiro vet check twice a year, and the dental check is always the first appointment with the chiro vet following a week or two later.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Mine had, had a kick to the jaw as a youngster before I brought him so one incisor never actually came through, that had to be surgically removed and then it left a gap so the others worked loose over time one by one like a row of dominos.

Ah ok, We think this was a kick. When you see them play/argue in the field its really surprising it doesnt happen more often, just accidentally.

 

[Alibear]

Of all his issues this one was the easiet to manage, I taught him to smile using clicker training so we could keep a good eye on things

 

[poiuytrewq]

I expect that you’re already on it, but do get her seen promptly by a good bodyworker after all that necessary but unnatural positioning on the chin rest for the dental work.

My two oldies now get dentals and chiro vet check twice a year, and the dental check is always the first appointment with the chiro vet following a week or two later.

Yes, Thank you for pointing that out. The last but one photo on the first batch really shows the weight she is holding up on her neck, I'd say most of her bodyweight. That was the one thing I said to a friend the following day, I'm absolulty sure that must have been painful.
She is having regular treatments anyway because she was/is stiff behind so yes, all covered. She is due on Monday next week.

 

[poiuytrewq]

To be honest though, that wasn't something I had thought of before hand. Mondays appointment was already in the diary, I was just relieved it was having seen how she stood for hours. Next time I will purposly book one.

 

[Tiddlypom]

My wonky mare has needed much less hands on treatment from the chiro vet since her major dental treatments were completed. It makes sense, she must have been in so much pain before and it must have affected how she moved even non ridden.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Really? It makes sense. I've been lucky enough not to have had much dental pain but i remember once years ago having dry socket after a tooth removal and beig almost seized up all through my neck and back in pain. You can't relax with any form of head pain imo, be it tooth or ear ache type things. So when you think about it its understandable.

 

[Widgeon]

Ugh - that's a big job! Very pleased to hear she was eating again so quickly, that's great. I hope the fillings last a good long time and that she's feeling better all round very soon.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Ugh - that's a big job! Very pleased to hear she was eating again so quickly, that's great. I hope the fillings last a good long time and that she's feeling better all round very soon.

Thank you! She loves her food! I think it would take real illness to stop her eating!