Equine Dentistry and Dental Welfare

Dental disease in horses causes significant pain and affects feeding, performance, and behaviour, making regular dental assessment and treatment by qualified practitioners a fundamental welfare provision.

Key Facts

Horses have hypsodont teeth — high-crowned molars that erupt continuously throughout life to compensate for wear
Uneven dental wear creates sharp enamel points on cheek teeth that lacerate the cheek and tongue mucosa during chewing
Dental abnormalities including wave mouth, step mouth, and hooks develop over time and prevent normal chewing
Signs of dental pain include difficulty chewing (dropping food), quidding hay, head tilting, and behavioural changes under saddle
Routine dental examination and rasping (floating) every 6-12 months is the standard of care for horses in work
Power tools now used by equine dentists allow more accurate correction of dental abnormalities than hand rasping alone
Sedation for dental procedures is often required for safety and to allow thorough oral examination without restriction

Welfare Considerations

Equine dental welfare is directly linked to feeding welfare, comfort, and performance across the entire lifespan. Sharp enamel points that develop from uneven molar wear lacerate the cheek and tongue with every chewing movement — a source of chronic oral pain during the 12-16 hours per day that horses spend chewing. Horses experiencing oral pain may drop food, avoid certain feeds, tilt their head while chewing, or show reluctance when contact is made with the bit — all behavioural signs of a pain problem requiring dental attention. More advanced dental abnormalities including long hooks that prevent lateral chewing movement further impair grinding efficiency, leading to incomplete feed digestion, weight loss, and gastrointestinal problems. Routine dental examination by a qualified equine veterinarian or registered equine dental technician every 6-12 months addresses emerging problems before they cause significant welfare harm. Horses that are reluctant or unsafe to examine without sedation benefit from chemical restraint that allows thorough assessment; adequate dental examination is impossible in an unsedated, defensive horse.

What You Can Do

Schedule equine dental examinations every 6-12 months with a qualified veterinarian or registered dental technician
Learn to recognise signs of dental pain including quidding, head tilting, and reluctance with the bit
Ensure sedation is used when necessary to allow thorough dental examination and treatment
Never work a horse through apparent discomfort under saddle without investigating dental pain as a potential cause