Equine dental disease part 2: a long-term study of 400 cases: disorders of development and eruption and variations in position of the cheek teeth.

This long-term research study looks at 400 cases of equine dental disorders, with a specific focus on cheek tooth disorders including tooth development, eruption, displacements, and variations in position. Results showed that the majority of issues could be successfully treated, except for diastemata (gaps between teeth).

Study Sample and Findings

The study involved looking into the dental disorder conditions of a sample of 400 horses. These horses were primarily affected by dental disorders related to primary cheek teeth. Of these, 90 cases were identified with disorders relating to tooth development and eruption or teeth displacement. The main types of disorders found within the sample group include:

• 20 cases with rostral maxillary (upper jaw) and caudal mandibular (lower jaw) cheek teeth overgrowths. This means some horses had teeth that had grown too much in the upper and lower jaw.
• 16 horses suffered from diastemata, which means there are noticeable gaps between where the teeth should be in the jaws.
• 15 cases were found with grossly enlarged ‘eruption cysts’ in the mandibular (lower jaw) cheek teeth, while 4 cases had the same issue in the maxillary (upper jaw) cheek teeth. Eruption cysts are sacs filled with fluid that form over a tooth as it is pushing through the gum.
• 10 horses were found to have supernumerary cheek teeth, meaning they have more teeth than is normal.
• 23 cases were identified where cheek teeth were displaced from their original position. It was believed that these displacements occurred during the development stage in 16 cases and were acquired due to various causes in the remaining seven cases.

Treatment Efficacy

As per the study, the researchers offer an insight into the long-term response to treatments for these dental disorders. Treatments included removal of overgrowth and extraction of teeth deeply affected by secondary periodontal disease (a severe gum infection that can damage gums and destroy the jawbone). In general, the response to these treatments was positive and most disorders showed significant improvement post-treatment. However, the exception was diastemata, where the study found that the disease was more persistent and perhaps less responsive to current treatments.