Advances in dental management in the equine geriatric patient: strategies for improved welfare.

The research article addresses important strategies to increase the welfare of older horses by addressing dental diseases that become common with age. Understanding these age-related dental diseases can aid in their early treatment to potentially preserve teeth and prevent further dental diseases due to decreased masticatory efficiency in aging horses.

Geriatric Horses and Dental Disease Prevalence

• The study finds that older horses often suffer from dental disease, which develops due to a combination of age-related dental changes and any previous dental issues over the horse’s lifetime.
• These persistent problems can have significant long-term effects if not adequately managed, affecting the horse’s quality of life.

Age-related Dental Disorders

• The research highlights that certain dental diseases become more prevalent as a horse ages.
• These include issues such as wear abnormalities, diastemata with periodontal disease, pulpitis, endodontic disease, infundibular caries, and a condition known as equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis.
• Early diagnosis of such age-related dental disorders enables more effective treatment, with the potential to preserve the horse’s teeth for a more extended duration.

Maintaining Dental Health in Aging Horses

• As the horse’s natural ability to chew food effectively decreases with age, it becomes increasingly important to preserve as many of the horse’s teeth as possible and inhibit any painful dental conditions from developing.
• The research advocates for regular and routine dental examination and maintenance, which can assist in preventing many dental diseases, such as wear disorders and secondary diastemata.
• With successful treatment and management, most dental diseases can be tackled even in older horses, maintaining high welfare standards as the horses age.