Vet Moves » Dental

Overbite

Dr. Barak Amram — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 01:03:52 +0000

Although there has been more emphasis on Equine Dentistry in the past couple of years many horses race with problems that enable them to eat and stay healthy without treatment.

One good example is this case of overbite (Parrot teeth), where the horse is still racing good and has not lost any weight due to it’s dental abnormalities.

Cheek Tooth Repulsion

Dr. Barak Amram — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 00:53:44 +0000

2nd and 3rd premolar tooth repulsion is elected when a tooth can not be extracted through the mouth with molar forceps. Usually when a cheek tooth is fractured or infected, for various reasons it is easier to pull out the tooth from the mouth due to the fact that the root is not as secure to the infundibular structures as a normal tooth. This is not always possible and for this the tooth, occasionally needs to be driven out of it’s socket into the mouth using a dental punch and mallet.

It is warranted to take radiographs before and after, to assure that no fragments are left behind, as one would do for a routine tooth extraction. Repulsion of the tooth involves trephening a hole to gain access to the base of the tooth and driving the tooth from it’s socket into the mouth. Two surgeons are required for that one would place a hand into the horses mouth and another would preform the repulsion. A mallet and a chisel are needed to access the base of the tooth. When the root of the tooth is identified the surgeon with the hand inside the horses mouth will ensure that the current tooth is being repelled and hold the punch in place when there is more then one cheek tooth to be removed.

The more caudal the tooth is the harder it will be to repel it. Signs of pathologies that involve the base of the cheek teeth are secondary sinusitis with purulent nasal discharge that does not resolve with antibiotic treatment or lavage of the sinus cavity. When the disease involves the mandibular teeth, swelling and chronic drainage can be seen from the ventral border of the mandible.

When the cheek teeth are removed a period of at least 3 weeks is necessary for granulation tissue to start filling in the gap where drainage should be put into place at this time to insure that food does not prevent the healing process. The drainage should be changed every tow days and the material that is used for the drainage should be soaked with a solution the promotes granulation tissue to fill in.

Mono-Lateral Sinusitis

Dr. Barak Amram — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 10:30:17 +0000

Mono-Lateral Sinusitis – infectious diseases of the upper respiratory tract.

Signs for sinusitis:

Infectious diseases of the upper respiratory tract
One-sided nasal discharge of thick, purulent material or blood
Distinctive and unpleasant smell at the nostril
Facial deformity

The approach to sinusitis is to establish if this is a primary sinusitis or secondary to a tooth root abscess of one or more of the cheek teeth. A thoural dental examination is warranted including dental radiographs and an examination or the upper airway (the nostrils) by endoscopy, if possible.

On this horse it was not possible and surgery was elected – Bone Flap. This was a primary sinusitis.