Dental Question

[3OldPonies]

Just wondering if anyone has had any experiences of having a horse's tooth extracted? Both costs and what happens.

That horse I've been pondering about is in a bit of trouble and although I'd decided to walk away latest developments are giving me sleepless nights again. His stablemate is moving to another yard and I don't know what's going to happen to the one I used to ride who could be left behind. His owner isn't saying what she is going to do with him and both me and her YO are thinking that she might have him PTS. The YO says she will put the livery up if he is left behind as she knows the owner won't manage two horses on different yards because the owner has told her she is pretty much giving up because she can't be ars*d anymore.

I know there are worse things that could happen to him than that at his age and with his arthritis problems, but I think not being able to be bothered any more is a pretty poor excuse for PTS. So I'd like to try and find out a bit more about this tooth extraction business because I don't have any experience myself and no idea about the process or costs, other than that the EDT says he can't do it and the vet will cost about £5,500.

The EDT said that tooth needs to come out because it is broken and a bit wobbly, therefore liable to get food impacted around it that could cause infection.

 

[lakesidedreamer]

Our EDT charged £35 for 2 wolf teeth to be extracted...

 

[w1bbler]

Vet removed a broken tooth under sedation on an oldie i was looking after. Was a few years ago, but was only a few hundred £'s

 

[cobgoblin]

£5,500 is a bit over the top!
Friends that have had this done have paid about £300, done under standing sedation.

 

[oldie48]

TBH it will depend on which tooth, whether it will wiggle free or need to be removed by drilling into the skull and knocking it out that way. It won't be comparable to removing wolf teeth either. There may also be ongoing costs as the opposing tooth will need regular attention as it won't get the same wear. My 27 year old has a wobbly tooth but my vet thinks it will probably come out on it's own accord but if I notice the old boy is struggling to eat then he'll remove it, I wouldn't expect this to be very costly as he'd just sedate and wiggle it free.

 

[3OldPonies]

Blimey, thanks everyone! I thought thousands seemed a bit steep, I may have a chat with my vet know. I wasn't going to bother if you'd all been in agreement with the EDT on cost but now you are mentioning hundreds instead I'm feeling a little more hopeful.

 

[rara007]

It's totally incomparable to removing displaced wolf teeth- and If they're not displaced I'm amazed you got a supervising vet to watch from that £35. It totally depends on what tooth, why and what else is going on in that head as to cost- it can be a quick whip out or it can be multiple CT scans and several standing surgeries. Usually somewhere inbetween!

 

[Hawks27]

5500 sounds insane, my edt has removed wolf teeth he charges £35 for routine check ups and rasping etc and he charged an additional 35 to remove the tooth.
My current horse broke his front tooth and vet call out examine referral and x-ray came to around £400 though they decided not to operate in end as he was comfortable and eating fine and the roots were entangled and would of been very complicated. but thye had advised 1500 ish to initially remove the root which would of covered the x-rays as well

 

[BraidedTail]

My old pony had a back tooth removed - standing sedation, in the field - around £250.

 

[3OldPonies]

Hawks27 - your scenario sounds the most similar - even 1500 is a lot less than what I've been led to believe it will cost.

I'm so glad I asked the forum. I'm starting to wonder whether I've been told the whole truth about this, and whether the quote has been embellished to put me off cos the YO doesn't actually want the horse on her yard. Stupid thing would be in that case that he wouldn't be staying on her yard anyway, he'd have to come to me - she charges £120 a week for a stable, grazing, use of her smallish school and storage area in one of her open barns. That's nearly what I pay for a month where I am.

 

[MardyMare]

It's totally incomparable to removing displaced wolf teeth- and If they're not displaced I'm amazed you got a supervising vet to watch from that £35. It totally depends on what tooth, why and what else is going on in that head as to cost- it can be a quick whip out or it can be multiple CT scans and several standing surgeries. Usually somewhere inbetween!

This is spot on. I have a mare who has had 2 teeth out standing sedation - both under the sinus both becoming more complex than what was thought would be an initial standing sedation. Luckily both mine didnt require GA in the end. The worse case senario is that they cannot get it out standing sedation and they have to go the GA route which can incur thousands never mind the risks. I was warned could go as far as £5k + if the previous standing sedation failed and the horse then had to go GA route.

After care / healing can range too. My first tooth was a nightmare with constant sinus infection - took 6 weeks to clear. This last one - near enough exact procedure took 2 weeks. (I am sure the socket takes longer but I am referring to being able to see that horse looks ok and feels comfortable)

 

[3OldPonies]

Ah, perhaps going the GA route was what was being referred to then. I'll have to see what else I can find out about this I think, perhaps standing sedation isn't an option, there might be complications such as you refer to MardyMare that I've not been told about.

Being totally honest, I had decided to walk away from this whole devilish situation, it's just that it is driving me nuts thinking that he might be PTS just because of someone not being bothered. Trouble is, I don't have thousands to spend on him and I don't want to end up with another field ornament - I already have two in retirement.

 

[Umbongo]

Depends on which tooth it is? Removal of an incisor or molar cannot be compared to shallow rooted wolf teeth. As there are no 100% guarantees in veterinary surgery, the cost may be a worst case scenario estimate? A simple sedate and molar removal (£ couple of hundred) could easily turn into a full GA and sinus flap surgery (£ thousands). I would also expect they would want to do x-rays/CT scans, particularly if the tooth is broken due to risk of fragments?

The aftercare can vary too. I knew a horse that had to have sinus flap surgery to remove an infected molar. Developed massive infection of the sinus and had to be flushed every day and antibiotics, took months to clear up. Horses that have an incisor/molar missing will also need more regular dental visits at least every 3-6 months, as the opposing tooth will not wear down.

I think if you do decide to take the horse on then you may need to find out a bit more about it. Good luck!

 

[Gloi]

It is going to be a completely different situation removing a loose back tooth from an elderly pony to removing one from a young horse where the tooth still has a large root. Our old pony had some work done including removing a loose tooth and packing diastemers under sedation and it was about £300.

 

[touchstone]

There is an old thread here:- http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?602560-how-much-for-a-tooth-extraction that might provide some insight.