Tooth removal in horses (also in Vets)

Roasted Chestnuts

Roasted Chestnuts

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My mare might have to have a tooth removed as it has become displaced and is now out of alignment therefore causing issues with her mouth.

I have spoken to vet who think removal will become inevitable, also spoke to dentist who said its better out sooner than later as it wont fix itself and eventually there will be nothing to rasp as it will require constant trimming to keep it out of her cheeks and this will wear it down until it becomes sore.

Now I have had varying opinions on how long I will have to keep Eowyn out of work, from a month to 4 months all ranging from vets to dentists to Joe Blo's.

Now I would like some opinions from those who have had a tooth removal done on a horse and how it affected their horses feeding and routines and also how it affected their work load. At the moment I am thinking it woul be better getting it out in winter as I dont have facilities so unless its dry or roadwork i dont get much riding done anyway :)

Before this looks insensitive its not all about being able to ride Eowyn and i have two horses both in work :) Its just she gets bored and hates being left out and needs to have a job to do even if its just getting a hack.
 
My horse had a cheek molar removed, knocked from the outside in under GA via a bone flap. It looked horrific afterwards although he didnt seem in any discomfort at all. He only needed 3 weeks off and apart from that, rasping every 6 mths as there was nothing for the opposite tooth to wear on although I have gone longer, Its nearly 8 yrs ago now and his teeth have realigned and the gap where it was is much smaller.
 
Louby said:
My horse had a cheek molar removed, knocked from the outside in under GA via a bone flap. It looked horrific afterwards although he didnt seem in any discomfort at all. He only needed 3 weeks off and apart from that, rasping every 6 mths as there was nothing for the opposite tooth to wear on although I have gone longer, Its nearly 8 yrs ago now and his teeth have realigned and the gap where it was is much smaller.
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May i ask how old was your horse when this was done??

Eowyn is 12/13 :)
 
He was 4, vet was hoping to remove it under sedation but it fractured so he had to have a GA. Vet said that in young horses they are much harder to remove as the roots are longer. My boy lives at a vets yard and the week after an older horse came in and had a tooth removed no problem at all. I know of another that had both fronts removed under sedation with no problems.
Which tooth is it?
 
Mine had deep tooth root abcess, tooth was fine - 1 large tooth removed, standing under sedation (long long job). Mine was a 5 year old and luckily it didn't break so done standing. Just over 10 weeks off with lots of packing and cleaning of hole, not allowed any grass for 9 weeks.
 
I had exactly the same experience as Louby - tooth fractured and then had to be removed via repulsion. My mare nearly died as a result of the infections which then took hold, but the infections were there beforehand and had caused serious sinus problems which also needed surgery.
 
Louby - its the second molar from the back i think, dont know the proper name sorry :o , shes also had a diastoma (sp?) as well and has peridentitis again associated with the diastoma (sp?) but they think this will clear now the tooth has been sorted (temporarily :))

She also was fighting the vet despite three sedations, vet doesnt want to do GA was looking at nerve block and local anesthetic?? What are peoples opinions on this approch??
 
Gosh Holly Hocks that sounds awful.
My boys was his 3rd from the back. He did have loads of problems after with infection. He had 2 trephines, oral ABs, injected ABs and we'd get rid of the awful smell and discharge for a few months, then it would come back, theres days when I smell the smell (you will never forget THE smell) even now but I dont think I would do the same again. I was warned there was a high risk of complications at the time. He never seemed ill with it though and ate normally throughout.
 
Louby said:
Gosh Holly Hocks that sounds awful.
My boys was his 3rd from the back. He did have loads of problems after with infection. He had 2 trephines, oral ABs, injected ABs and we'd get rid of the awful smell and discharge for a few months, then it would come back, theres days when I smell the smell (you will never forget THE smell) even now but I dont think I would do the same again. I was warned there was a high risk of complications at the time. He never seemed ill with it though and ate normally throughout.
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Totally agree the smell was horrendous! Mine only had one set of oral ABs, but washing out and repacking every other day by vet.
 
My mare had hers out with sedation. she is older so needed to be wiggled and eventually came out, she had 2 done actually. Then she had the diastema done. after the extractions she was one danilon for 5 days (2 a day) then out of work for about 10 days. she had no problem with eating afterwards. Didn't actually seem up nor down tbh.
 
So how would you sway the decision between possible bad infecion and just letting the tooth be rasped contantly??

How BAD were these infections?? Were horses in constant pain??? Were you having to flush contstantly???
 
1t34 said:
Totally agree the smell was horrendous! Mine only had one set of oral ABs, but washing out and repacking every other day by vet.
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I had a special smelly farm coat worn when I flushed his sinuses. It was kept in a bag at the farm as the smell was so bad :eek: Id go home and could taste it mmmm mmmm :)
 
NiknKia said:
So how would you sway the decision between possible bad infecion and just letting the tooth be rasped contantly??

How BAD were these infections?? Were horses in constant pain??? Were you having to flush contstantly???
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My boy had a smelly discharge from his nostril for weeks before his tooth was diagnosed. Removing the tooth was hopefully a cure for it. We did get there in the end and at the time there wasnt really any choice for me but to have it took out.
 
My vet specialises in dentistry/ endodontics and took my boys tooth out in 5 minutes under sedation. No probs at all.

Rode him in a bitless bridle for two weeks and then back in his normal bridle with no issues and it was a cheek molar nest to his bit (hope that makes sense).

Vet packed the hole with a special anti-microbial packing and he had a course of bute and antibiotics for five days. I think he may well be way ahead of the game though with regard to the packing stuff.

He went back a few weeks later for a check and further work in other areas of his mouth and vet was really pleased.
 
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my 5 year old just had 1 unerupted wolf tooth removed dentist advised one week off then should be fine to ride. Had no infection problems.
 
NiknKia said:
Ah so the infection was there before the tooth came out? She doesnt have an infection at themoment but i dont want it to get to that stage .

What was the after care like???
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Please dont let my experience put you off having it done. It was supposed to be a straightforward removal under sedation although I was told worst case scenario was a GA as the tooth already had a hairline fracture, hence the telltale smelly snot. They tried but it fractured, just my luck so it was a GA.
I read up a lot on the proceedure out of desperation really as the infection despite the tooth being removed continued and a report I found from Leahurst had said post op complications are high.
He had 2 trephines at different times and I had to flush it 3 times a day for about 3 weeks at a time. The hole from the tooth was packed with a temp tooth and vet said it would come away on its own but it didnt, vet said this wasnt a bad thing but eventually removed it as we thought maybe it was something to do with the infection.
It did come right in the end and despite all that happened, he was fine, totally normal, ate well and was ridden as normal.
 
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