Dentistry for your horse

[TPO]

Tricky isnt it.

I can see no disadvantages in getting my horse checked out by an vet dentist next time, and getting a view on the work of my EDT.

Though google isnt bringing up any vets that only do teeth in Surrey.

I found the Equine Dental Clinic but they are not close. I have messaged to see if they come my way on other visits, and if I can tag along.

I did think would be more dentist only vets in Surrey, but google not finding them.

There's no one immediately close to me either. The guy up here holds clinics for vets to refer horses to.

We travelled to one of those with mums horse who turned out to have a fractured tooth that needed removed.

I was referred to him again when the extent of the damage to Chip's mouth was discovered. Chip was really ill at that point.


Initially we thought the weight loss was because of his very painful mouth, when it was discovered, so Richard from EDC very kindly did home visits to check up on Chip. Ultimately it wasn't mouth related, that was a separate (painful) issue.


If you have transport, and it's practical it's worth contacting them.


The Fuzzy Furry's recommendations are always valuable, too.

 

[Fieldlife]

There's no one immediately close to me either. The guy up here holds clinics for vets to refer horses to.

We travelled to one of those with mums horse who turned out to have a fractured tooth that needed removed.

I was referred to him again when the extent of the damage to Chip's mouth was discovered. Chip was really ill at that point.


Initially we thought the weight loss was because of his very painful mouth, when it was discovered, so Richard from EDC very kindly did home visits to check up on Chip. Ultimately it wasn't mouth related, that was a separate (painful) issue.


If you have transport, and it's practical it's worth contacting them.


The Fuzzy Furry's recommendations are always valuable, too.

I do have transport, and it is about 2.5 hours (old slow lorry) to EDC home location. Though it seems likely they'd have something closer I can attend. Hopefully.
5 hours of driving feels a bit excessive, when he doesnt (to the best of my knowledge have a teeth issue).

 

[Tiddlypom]

My current Surrey based practice (still independent) have a vet that specialises in teeth. But dont know how good he is / how much of his work is teeth. Or if he is a normal vet with an extra teeth qualification.

Is he on this list? There are a number of vets who have done the additional equine dentistry training to become members of the BAEDT. But not being on there doesn’t necessarily mean that he isn’t a specialist vet dentist, as opposed to being a generalist vet who does some dentistry.

MEMBER-LIST

The BAEDT is an organisation for qualified Equine Dental Technicians, promoting their professional training, improving the welfare of horses and the understanding of equine dentistry to the general public

baedt.com

My vet dentist isn’t on that list, but he has the CertAVP (ED) in addition to the BVSc and MRCVS. That’s the Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice in Equine Dentistry.

ETA He only does equine dentistry now.

 

[SheriffTruman]

I use a vet who is a dental specialist…..does no other work! Believe me the difference is incredible. I’m not saying if the horses mouth is fairly straightforward an EDT or standard vet won’t do a good job but the difference in using a specialist is amazing.
I have the teeth of over 30 horses a year checked on the yard to give an idea.

I agree.

I have a vet specialising in equine dentistry. He works with sedation. Without, my horse wouldn't let any stranger touch his mouth. He is a very good, and reputable dentist, I'm really lucky to have him. That's only because he does all the horses at the (smallish) yard we're on, so it's worth his while.

We started out with once a year-visits, but horse now needs work every six months, due to sharp edges combined with an Arab dish, and small head/mouth. So every six months it is, dental care is something I'm not willing to budget on.

 

[Mrs G]

I use an EDT but get Domesedan in advance from the vet. We tried horse once without sedation - it was dangerous for all concerned so routinely use the sedation, he is checked yearly and so far all is well.

 

[minesadouble]

Just a word of warning to those using an EDT and no sedation as I notice almost half answered the poll with this option.
We had an EDT who came to our yard and did most of the horses (including my own 5).
None were sedated, he was so good with the horses, even the more highly strung individuals could be done without sedation.
He was also very good with the owners, explained everything in depth. I remember with a couple of mine him asking me to rub my hand up the outside of the teeth before and after and you really could feel the difference. We were given full charts and everyone was so happy with the service he provided.

We then (and I can't remember the reason why - possibly unavailability of the usual EDT) used a Vet specialist and BAEDT (a highly qualified one who also has training status), working together, who were appalled at the state of the horses' mouths.
One elderly livery was so bad that they were taking photos of the inside of his mouth with the intention of reporting the EDT concerned. (Who is also qualified and very popular!).


The Vet and new EDT sedated the vast majority of the horses who had previously been done without sedation.
He told us that the reason theses horses had formerly stood unsedated for the previous EDT was basically that he had been doing so little they had nothing to object to.

I'm not saying it's impossible for an EDT to do a good job without sedation but out of 30 liveries plus my own horses only 3 or 4 can be done efficiently without sedation, whereas previously only 2 or 3 were sedated.

Like @Tiddlypom my eyes have been truly opened by this experience and I too just want to make others aware that everything may not be as it seems.

 

[Fieldlife]

Equine Dental Referral - Rob Pascoe. Have Facebook page but website doesn’t work.

 

[Equi]

3 of mine are done by a qualified EDT without sedation. 1 is sedated with domosedan (heavy dose) he did have vet sedation twice but both times he sweated up shockingly and took a long time to come back to life. (I also believe he had never had the dentist u til I got him at 13 so his teeth were a bit shocking. He did try once without and nearly killed the poor edt so won’t be without sedation ever again)

The domosedan works better but needs to be timed to the minute (43 lol) I give the youngsters 1ml each just to take the edge off cause they can still throw baby moves but I plan to stop this, they’ve never really been bad and have had edt in the past without any but there wasn’t any real work to be done.

 

[maya2008]

Just a word of warning to those using an EDT and no sedation as I notice almost half answered the poll with this option.
We had an EDT who came to our yard and did most of the horses (including my own 5).
None were sedated, he was so good with the horses, even the more highly strung individuals could be done without sedation.
He was also very good with the owners, explained everything in depth. I remember with a couple of mine him asking me to rub my hand up the outside of the teeth before and after and you really could feel the difference. We were given full charts and everyone was so happy with the service he provided.

We then (and I can't remember the reason why - possibly unavailability of the usual EDT) used a Vet specialist and BAEDT (a highly qualified one who also has training status), working together, who were appalled at the state of the horses' mouths.
One elderly livery was so bad that they were taking photos of the inside of his mouth with the intention of reporting the EDT concerned. (Who is also qualified and very popular!).


The Vet and new EDT sedated the vast majority of the horses who had previously been done without sedation.
He told us that the reason theses horses had formerly stood unsedated for the previous EDT was basically that he had been doing so little they had nothing to object to.

I'm not saying it's impossible for an EDT to do a good job without sedation but out of 30 liveries plus my own horses only 3 or 4 can be done efficiently without sedation, whereas previously only 2 or 3 were sedated.

Like @Tiddlypom my eyes have been truly opened by this experience and I too just want to make others aware that everything may not be as it seems.

I think it’s just so individual: good/bad vet, good/bad EDT.

Vet examples:
- two different vets plus x-rays. Uncomfortable pony still. EDT time rolled around - two caps found stuck on and wedged in her tiny mouth - adult teeth couldn’t come through. Swelling started going down straight away, within a couple of months pony was completely normal.
- one vet sedated yet pony still uncomfortable. EDT a month later finished the job (for free, bless him) and she was instantly happier.

We have had great vets do teeth, with and without sedation. We have had EDTs not so great at keeping equines calm and those that are like magic horse whisperers.

EDT main disadvantage I find is that it takes time to get an appointment so if needing someone quickly vet is only option. Big advantage for me is that they don’t require sedation and I can get the EDT out to a previously feral pony a long time before they will tolerate a vet IV sedating them. Especially given that teaching a vet how to get a needle kindly and easily into a pony neck (which apparently has a slightly different anatomy) does not seem to be on the vet school curriculum.

 

[LadyGascoyne]

We use an EDT and neither of my two need any sedation. Mim gets bored and figety occasionally but Miri seems to almost enjoy it. She’s a strange strange little creature

I have had the vet intermittently check teeth which have been done by my EDT, once, recently, when I’d had them done on schedule but felt Mim wasn’t happy with contact, and when we had Milagra who had EOTRH. My vets have always confirmed that the teeth are fine so I’m happy to continue with my EDT. If my horses have any dental health issues, I’d include vet oversight as a matter of course. (Mim’s issue turned out to be her bit so that was easily resolved.)

My vets always sedate which my horses like less than pure dental work. It’s one of the reasons I prefer to keep general maintenance under the EDT.