Equine Dentistry and Welfare

Key Welfare Considerations

• Horses' teeth erupt continuously throughout life — dental problems from uneven wear cause chronic pain welfare impacts.
• Sharp enamel points on the buccal surface of upper molars cause cheek lacerations and welfare discomfort.
• Bit-related pain from dental pathology affects behaviour, training welfare, and human-horse relationship.
• Wolf teeth (first premolars) cause bit contact welfare problems and are routinely extracted.
• Equine dental examinations require a speculum, head torch, and ideally sedation for thorough welfare assessment.
• Power float equilibration corrects uneven occlusal surfaces, resolving sharp point welfare causes.
• Sinus infections secondary to tooth root pathology cause significant welfare suffering and require specialist treatment.
• Diastema (abnormal gaps between teeth) cause food packing, periodontal disease, and welfare pain.
• Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH) causes severe root absorption welfare pain in older horses.
• EOTRH is underdiagnosed — affected horses show subtle welfare signs including reluctance to eat hard feeds.
• Extraction of EOTRH-affected incisors consistently resolves welfare-affecting pain and restores normal eating behaviour.
• Annual dental examination by a qualified equine dental technician or vet should be a minimum welfare standard.
• Horses in poor condition or with poor food conversion efficiency should receive priority dental welfare assessment.
• Weight loss in horses warrants dental examination as a first welfare investigation — dental pain reduces feed intake.
• Post-procedure monitoring and recovery management ensures appropriate welfare during dental healing.