Questions

  • The majority of horses require annual follow-ups to maintain his/her mouth in optimum functioning order. A few will require more frequent attention, rarely more than every six months. A horse requiring major initial corrections may be best served if the work is broken into two or three sessions a few months apart. Some performance horses will appreciate touch-ups every 6-9 months to keep them comfortable. Horses under the age of 5 benefit from examination every 6-9 months because their teeth are erupting faster than a mature horse and their mouths are undergoing fast and dramatic change as they acquire their permanent teeth.

  • Regular veterinary dental care is an important part of your horse’s overall health, comfort, and well-being. Dental problems can develop gradually and may not always show obvious signs of discomfort. Having your horse’s teeth examined by a veterinarian is especially important because a veterinary dental examination goes beyond simply floating the teeth. A veterinarian is trained to evaluate the entire oral cavity, identify disease and abnormalities, assess the structures surrounding the teeth, and determine when additional diagnostics or treatment may be necessary.

  • There must be a safe place for your horse, yourself and the veterinarian. Good footing for your horse is very important. A source of hot and cold water. We perform a brief general physical exam and will discuss any significant medical history or current health concerns with you before we begin. We will sedate your horse with a safe and effective combination of intravenous sedatives. He/She will get very groggy, may sway a bit or even stumble once or twice. This is all normal and desirable. The vast majority of horses stand quite well with our drug combinations. Once the horse is sedate, the speculum goes on and we do our oral exam, discuss any findings before proceeding.

    We use a combination of motorized tools to best address your horse's needs. Our motorized equipment includes both rotary and reciprocating instrumentation. Our selection of instruments allows us pinpoint accuracy. We can address each portion of each tooth individually as we work to make the whole mouth a smoothly functioning unit.

    When our work is complete, most patients are beginning to emerge from the sedation. We have them stay in their stall until they come out of sedation.

  • Most of the time we work in a stall with our equipment just outside in the aisleway. We prefer not to work in wash stalls or grooming areas as they can be dangerous for sedated horses.  We must be able to get the patient, our team and all my equipment out of the weather. We can also work in large open areas as long as they have level, safe footing and they are totally under cover and have no likely hazards. We need at least a small amount of clean absorbent bedding to soak up mouth wash water, or a muck tub/bucket. All we need is a bucket of water for instruments. 

  • It varies from horse to horse, but in general, 30-45 minutes per horse is necessary. Horses with serious abnormalities, those who are extremely resistant, or those requiring additional diagnostics will take longer.

  • Yes. Leaders in the field agree that it is not possible to perform a thorough examination and odontoplasty without substantial sedation. While most procedures are not painful, even routine work is cause for apprehension for most horses.

    The sedation is extremely safe and allows him/her to relax so that the work can be done correctly, efficiently and without undue stress to the horse. We also recommend planning your show schedule accordingly as the drugs we use for sedation, have certain washout periods.

  • Horses should not be ridden after sedation. Under most circumstances, horses may be ridden as normal the following day. Your horse should not eat hay or grain for at least 1-2 hours after a sedation and dental procedure. Once they are fully awake, most horses never miss a meal. Horses also need about 2 hours before getting turned out again. Just to make sure they are nice and awake. We are available and happy to address any concerns at any time following the procedure.

  • Yes. Please let us know about any recent or upcoming veterinary procedures or treatments when scheduling your horse’s dental appointment. Dental appointments should not be scheduled within one week of joint injections.

    The medications used for sedation also have a withdrawal/washout period, so please take your horse’s show schedule into consideration when planning their dental appointment. If you have an upcoming competition, let our team know when scheduling so we can help determine the appropriate timing for your horse’s dental care.

  • The cost varies significantly from horse to horse based on the necessary treatments for each individual. Fees for Routine Dental Exam and Prophylactic Care include a physical exam, with special emphasis on the head and mouth, sedation, and occlusal adjustment (floating) of sharp enamel points. These fees also include a complete dental charting of your horse's dental condition both before and after treatment, recommendations for future dental work and recommendations on any other health care issues. Additional treatments or diagnostics that may be required such as; periodontal disease treatment, extractions, radiographs etc., are priced separately.

    Set Up fees vary according to geographic location and the number of horses at one facility. They are usually split between the number of owners present. We encourage groups to coordinate scheduling to benefit a larger number of horses.

    Payment is required at the time of service. We accept cash, checks, Visa/Mastercard/Amex, or CareCredit. We do require a credit card to be placed on file with our office. Please see our payment policy here.