following my horse and the dentist thread...warning re power dental tools.

charlie76

charlie76

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If You didn't read my thread, my horse has not eaten or drunk anything since he had the Dentist on Monday. He has been depressed and on Tues was in a lot of pain. Dentist has come back out and we discovered that the poor boys tongue has been burnt and blistered from the power tools.
Please be careful
 
One of those things i'm afraid. We had an oldie that would have lost his teeth if hand floats were used....power tools have their place, but obviously need using with caution.
Hope your boy is feeling better soon.
 
Having had Archie's teeth done yesterday and having to have them done on a 3-4 month regular basis due to his supernumary tooth, I have never encountered a problem, thankfully.

Archies tooth couldn't be more far back in his mouth than it is now but it is dealt with with no adverse consequences.

Is it not the equine dentist who should have been more careful? Surely he could see or feel what was happening and should have stopped short of causing any injury.

Even without power tools hand tools will cause horrendous injuries in inadequate hands.

I hope your horse mouth is better soon and no long lasting damage has been caused.
 
Archiesmummy said:
Is it not the equine dentist who should have been more careful? Surely he could see or feel what was happening and should have stopped short of causing any injury.

Even without power tools hand tools will cause horrendous injuries in inadequate hands.
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Agree with this.
 
I know. I think the problem is that much of the 'power tool' dentistry training is done in the States, which is fine, but my eq dentist said that for all their practical work when they train there the horses are completely anaethetised and of course that makes it a very different way to work and presumably much easier to be very accurate and avoid any injury.
I would only now allow power tools on my horse if she were knocked out after reading about it.
 
charlie76 said:
If You didn't read my thread, my horse has not eaten or drunk anything since he had the Dentist on Monday. He has been depressed and on Tues was in a lot of pain. Dentist has come back out and we discovered that the poor boys tongue has been burnt and blistered from the power tools.
Please be careful
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Really salient warning.

I've never allowed a dentist to use a power tool on a horse of mine - and this just underlines why.
 
I would suggest that your equine dentist is not maintaining his equipment and tools correctly.
I would strongly recommend you get your vet in without any delay to check your horse as serious damage could have been caused to the tongue and the other soft tissues of the oral cavity.
 
I know tongues are very mobile and I always want to put mine where the dentist is drilling (:rolleyes:) but don't they use some sort of tongue retractor with power tools?
I've only seem then used once and can't remember.

Hope the tongue heals soon. Burns, as we all know are especially painful.
 
My vet uses the electric rasp on my old horse and we've never had a problem.
Ive had the tool run along my hand again with no problem, id imagine for it to cause the damage you describe it would need to be left to long in the one place possibly, can you speak to the dentist and ask him hiw the injuries have happened ?
 
Poor horse, how awful. I hope that he heals soon and well.

Our dentist has always used power tools on our four for the past four years, without any accidents - even on one that was throwing itself around and put me in hospital! I would say that something went wrong or you were very unlucky..
 
amymay said:
Really salient warning.

I've never allowed a dentist to use a power tool on a horse of mine - and this just underlines why.
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Me too.

Two and a half years ago a vet/EDT (both qualifications) did my boy and all this time later his bottom teeth are still completely flat where she scalped them

OP are you sure that his tongue was not burnt by his teeth, rather than the tools? use of the tool for too long heats the tooth red hot, and that could be what burnt his tongue. If so, it's possible that they have also killed the tooth nerve, and if so you could now have long term problems. I think you need to write to the dentist making it clear that if the horse does suffer long term problems you will be claiming on his/her insurance, and that he/she is liable for the vets fees that you are paying now.

I absolutely do not agree that this is just "one of those things", it is unacceptable for the dentist to have harmed your horse and you are entitled not to be out of pocket because of it.
 
Your poor horse. It would be interesting to hear what your dentist had to say. Cases like this should not happen with correct use of power tools and they certainly have their place in modern dentistry when used properly however people will be wary of their use after hearing stories like yours.

You said in your original post that this was the first time this horse had had power tools used – it would be interesting to know why they were used this time? Was this a new dentist for this horse or is your dentist inexperienced in the use of power tools? It does sounds as though the power tool was kept in one place too long and not checked for temperature at regular intervals. I hope your dentist is suitably contrite and takes steps to change their working methods immediately.

Wishing your boy a speedy recovery.
 
I'm sorry but what idiotic dentist did you use that didn't either move the tongue out of the way or at least guard it with their hand at the bare minimum?!?

I've spent the summer standing next over 80 horses getting their teeth done and the only blood or problems were on the part of the vet himself - he nicked his finger cleaning a rasp and he got blisters on one hand from the new raasp he was using. Not a single one of these horses had a problem in their mouths afterwards.
 
mine have always been done with power tools, I have never had a problem. I would be extremely concerned at the ability of the dentist if they have caused that much damage to your horse and would be seeking a second opinion from my vet. Provided that the vet was a good one. I have one horse that has to have his teeth done by the vet as he has to be heavily sedated due to a bad experience with a dentist before I got him. My others are all done by an EDT with power tools. And the same EDT does all the horses on my yard, never once have we had a problem. the equipment must be faulty if the dentist is half decent. However in my opinion a half decent dentist would realise immediately if there was a problem.
 
charlie76 said:
The equine dentist is usually really good so I can only assume that the tools were to blame.
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Any tool or piece of equipment used is only as good as the person who holds it, IMO.

Surely this situation was avoidable. My vet specialises in dentistry. He stops and starts, whether it is by power tool or hand held tool, constantly checking and feeling his way and assessing progress.

He also knows when a routine dental check and rasp crosses the line from routine work to remedial work and for the good of the horses mouth and comfort will recommend several visits rather than try to do too much all in one go. Yes, more cost is accrued but surely the well being and comfort of the horse is paramount.

Wishing your horse a quick recovery xxx
 
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