Older horses - teeth and diastemas

[Meowy Catkin]

So my chestnut mare has developed diastemas and although the Vet (also a qualified Equine Dentist) is happy with how things are currently, it was mentioned that things could deteriorate. I was told that this could be then sorted by having some teeth removed under standing sedation at the Vet Hospital. This would result in bigger gaps that would be too big for food to pack in them.

Has anyone had teeth removed due to diastemas on an older horse? I'd love to know if it was successful and how the horse coped with the procedure and the recovery.

 

[HashRouge]

Hi MC, my 27 yr old Arab has had diastema for most of her 20s. She has always eaten fine but has had quite a lot of trouble with food packing and then causing gum disease. It can get quite sore and she doesn't like me messing round with her mouth so things like me brushing them aren't really practical. About two years ago her EDT (also a vet nurse) did a little bit of work to widen some of the gaps, but she didn't have any teeth taken out. I was quite anxious as I'm always worried about teeth/ mouths but actually things have improved slightly since she had the work done and she doesn't get quite such bad packing. The EDT said last time she was here that the gum disease had improved too. I'm not sure how practical removing teeth altogether would be for a horse that had a lot diastemas as surely you'd have to remove quite a few teeth or it wouldn't be effective? But hopefully someone else with more experience of this will be able to offer some insight.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Thanks HR. I can definitely ask next time if widening the gaps without tooth removal would be possible in my mare's case.

 

[Gloi]

My oldie had diastemas and for the last few years of his life had regular trips to the vets to be sedated and have the diastemas cleaned out and widened where necessary and some packing done in other places. He always ate better after treatment but in the end his teeth just got too bad and he was pts at 30.

 

[Tazzydog]

My mare developed these when she was 13. My vet said it was unusual for a horse of her age. She had 5 gaps that were trapping food so she went to the vet to have the teeth either side of the gaps widened to make v shapes. The treatment was needed as the gaps were getting wider as the grinding surface on the top of the teeth was growing out and pushing on the top of the tooth next to it. This was creating an area that food could easily get stuck in. Four of the teeth stayed fine with the gaps closing up as new tooth grew, but one needed some extra work about a year later. I would say this is a procedure that needs to be done at the vets with good lighting and a camera on a probe to enable the gaps to be properly viewed and ensure the flushing cleans out every bit of stuck food. My horse had a quick drying putty placed over the gaps to form a bridge which protected the gum whilst it heeled. These fell out after a few months on their own. She did not have any problems eating before the procedure, but I think we caught them early as she has to have her teeth rasped every 6 months anyway. No problems eating after the procedure.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Thanks for that TD.

She's eating up well at the moment but it bothers me that she could be in discomfort and that I can't tell. I will definitely talk to the vet about the options sooner rather than later.

Sorry to read about your boy G. 30 is an excellent age but it's still a dreadful shame that his teeth got so bad. This is exactly what I worry about with my girl.

 

[Gloi]

Sorry to read about your boy G. 30 is an excellent age but it's still a dreadful shame that his teeth got so bad. This is exactly what I worry about with my girl.

If he had been willing to eat soft food he could have carried on a while but I could never find any that he liked ? .Hopefully they'll sort your girl out so you have plenty more years together.