Equine Dental technicians

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Associations

Anybody interested in becoming an Equine Dental Technician in the UK should contact The British Association of Equine Dental Technicians. You can also search for a dentist technician in your area on this site.

World Wide Association of Equine Dentistry

Training:

American School of Equine Dentistry - Four week course that prepares a student for entry into a full or part time career as an equine dental technician. Not a government accredited school.

Australian Equine Dental Practice. - Details of a 4 month distance and on-premises course providing multi-faceted education for lay persons and veterinary graduates enabling working as an Equine Dentist. Not government accredited.

The College of Equine Dentistry Australia Pty Ltd

Equine Dentistry Glenormiston - A full time course of about 15 months duration based in Glenormiston Australia. It teaches equine dentistry and other subjects and is combined with an unpaid apprenticeship. Government accredited.

Hartpury College - Three year degree course leading to Equine Dental Science BSc. Tel: 01452 702132, Fax: 01452 700629, Email: enquire@hartpury.ac.uk

School of Equine Dentistry - This organisation is based in Idaho US. It provides numerous courses with a duration of up to 5 days each. It is not a government accredited school.

School of Equine Dentistry - This franchised school is based in Gunnedah Australia. Courses include a basic 50 hour dentistry course and more advanced courses. It is not a government accredited school.

Horse's Teeth

A normal adult horse has a minimum of 36 teeth. It may also have up to four wolf teeth and/or canines. Of these, there are six upper and six lower incisors, which are used for tearing grass and other forage. On each side of both jaws, it has three pre-molars and three permanent molars (cheek teeth), which it uses for grinding food. The grinding surfaces of these cheek teeth are called tables. They are not horizontal though, but tilt downwards and outwards at 10-15 degrees. The upper jaw is about 25% wider than the lower jaw, which moves in a circular motion, bringing the cheek teeth tables into contact.

By the time a horse is five years old all it's teeth should normally be through and the gums should be a healthy pink colour with no bruising.

Glossary of Terms:

Arcade: A row of teeth.

Bit Seats:  Rounding off the front surface of the first upper and lower cheek teeth to make the horse more comfortable with the bit.

Cap: The remains of a deciduous (baby) tooth that covers an erupting tooth and is then shed. Retention of caps may delay eruption of the permanent cheek tooth causing the development of eruption cysts

Cheek Teeth: The premolars and molars at the back of the mouth, both top and bottom, which are used to grind up food.

Diastema: A space between teeth. This may be the normal space between the incisors and the cheek teeth or an abnormal space that develops between one or more cheek teeth.

Hook: A pointed end or protuberance on a tooth through abnormal wear.

Incisors: The top and bottom teeth (12 in total), found at the front of the mouth and used for grazing.

Quidding: The dropping of partly chewed food from the mouth.

Slant Mouth: Contact between the top and bottom incisors at an angle instead of being horizontal.

Step Mouth: Through abnormal wear, the grinding surface of the cheek teeth arcade is arranged in step like fashion instead of the normal smooth curve.

Shearmouth: Through abnormal wear, the angle of contact between the top and bottom cheek teeth has become greater than the normal 10-15 degrees and may have reached 45 degrees.

Tushes or Tusks: The canine teeth found between the incisors and the cheek teeth. Theoretically used for fighting and present in most male horses. Usually very small or absent in mares.

Wave Mouth: Due lo uneven wear, the grinding surface of the cheek teeth arcade has a wavelike appearance instead of a smooth curve.

Wolf Teeth: The first premolars that appear in front of the cheek teeth in around 15-25% of horses. If small and correctly positioned, they are unlikely to cause problems.

Linda Tellington - Jones: Posture, Performance and Dentistry in the Equine Athlete

N.B. A dental technician is not permitted to perform any act of veterinary surgery. Horse dentists are working towards a controlling body and standard qualifications.

Useful Contacts:

The Equine Toothbrush from Burnham Marketing Ltd, Tel: 01482 638413, Email: info@burnham-web.co.uk 

Useful contacts:

British Equine Veterinary Association, tel: 020 7610 6080.

Equine Dentistry UK

Equine Dentistry

International Association of Equine Dentistry

International Directory of Equine Dentistry Idaho, USA

Nixon & Marshall Veterinary Surgeons - Lots of information and diagrams about equine dental care.

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