What to do about a broken tooth?

[asommerville]

Just noticed tonight that my 3 yaer old gelding has a broken front tooth!! Cant belive it and no idea how it happened. It is so far down that it looks like it it is just coming out of the gum (does that make sense?) i have poked and prodded and stuck my finger on it and it does not seem to be hurting him at all, he is till taking his bit in his mouth and munching his feed. the dentist is due at the end of the month but should i wait till then? Or keep an eye on it and if it hurts him phone the vet?! Any advice appreciated

 

[Umbongo]

Could it actually be a deciduous cap (baby tooth)? They shed them around that age although sometimes they can become stuck (retained caps) and need a bit of assistance, and that the bit coming out of the gum line is his permanent tooth. I think if he had broken his tooth you would know about it and I doubt very much he would be happily eating.

If you have an doubts then maybe get the dentist out a bit earlier. Hope it was just a cap and the permanent tooth is erupting

 

[Arkmiido]

I had a complete freak out a while ago when one of my youngsters had a gap in the bottom jaw. Much to the amusement of my vet and (horsey) boyfriend, having SOS'd them both! He stood there, hand on hip, grinning at me.... "And you a nurse? They let you qualify? Really?" Git.
It sounds like a baby tooth has just come out, leaving adult tooth underneath. I wouldn't worry about it! As long as you are keeping an eye on it, if it's not painful or bleeding profusely (which a lost baby tooth shouldn't...) its really not a problem. I'm sure your dentist will tell you all about what to expect!

 

[asommerville]

hope so i feel like a bad mum for not noticing before haven't had him long so this will be the first time he gets his teeth done as well!!!!! It looks really different from the other front teeth as if there is a gap! Will keep an eye on it and see how he gets on

 

[Umbongo]

hope so i feel like a bad mum for not noticing before haven't had him long so this will be the first time he gets his teeth done as well!!!!! It looks really different from the other front teeth as if there is a gap! Will keep an eye on it and see how he gets on

Don't worry, most caps are lost out in the field whilst they graze so you would be very lucky to have noticed the cap coming off! If he had broken his tooth to the gum line then I would have expected some blood and the horse would be in a lot of pain. The only instances I have known where horses have broken their teeth is from accidents such as rearing up and falling over on the road etc, other head trauma accidents.

 

[Arkmiido]

hope so i feel like a bad mum for not noticing before haven't had him long so this will be the first time he gets his teeth done as well!!!!! It looks really different from the other front teeth as if there is a gap! Will keep an eye on it and see how he gets on

Hopefully your dentist won't need to do alot - it's probably a good experience to wear the gag for a little while, but they will only be able to rasp the caps, which will be falling off soon anyway so should really be necessary? My vet does my guys' teeth, and didn't touch my youngster - just put the gag on a few times and felt around, established there were no problems..

 

[Echo Bravo]

Sounds definately like a milk tooth, the worse one is when they start to push new tooth up and milktooth starts to come out sideways and you can never find the ruddy things, when they do come out.

 

[VictoriaEDT]

Try not to worry, sounds like a deciduous cap.

Although, I have to disagree with young horses not needing their teeth doing because I have seen some of the sharpest teeth and the most cheek/tongue damage from youngsters 2-3 years of age. Also if they arent checked, they are changing 24 teeth in the period of 2-5 years of age and they can easily become impacted requiring extraction to prevent the adult erupting tooth below from displacing. In short, a hell of a lot goes on that needs to be monitored!

 

[Cedars]

Trust Victoria above! She did my little one the other week who had sharp teeth! xx

 

[VictoriaEDT]

I was just thinking of her when I wrote that!

 

[Cedars]

Haha!

 

[asommerville]

thank u for all the advice - glad to hear this is supposed to happen! I panicked and thought he had a broken tooth and was going to spend the rest of his life looking like a pirate!! i am getting the dentist up anyway for my big horse so wanted him to at least have a wee look at him and get him used to it. He is a bit frightened of all things new so it won't do any harm. Thanks again!