Pathological studies of cheek teeth apical infections in the horse: 3. Quantitative measurements of dentine in apically infected cheek teeth.

This research explored the oral health condition in horses, with a focus on dental pathology. More specifically, the study examined the extent of damage in the horse’s cheek teeth due to infection at the apex or the farthest end of the tooth. It measured the thickness of various types of dentine and the size of pulp diameter. The study found significant reductions in the thickness of both regular and irregular secondary dentine in horses with infections compared to healthy horses, leading to wider pulps in affected teeth.

Objective and Methodology

• The research aimed to study patterns of dentine – a crucial tooth component, in horses’ apically infected cheek teeth.
• Measurements were taken for multiple types of dentine: primary, regular secondary, and irregular secondary. Additionally, pulp diameter was measured.
• The researchers also assessed the levels of predentine, resting lines, and increased areas of intertubular dentine.

Findings

• Both types of secondary dentine (regular and irregular) displayed significant reduction in thickness in infected cheek teeth when compared to healthy controls.
• 21 out of 26 infected maxillary cheek teeth and 15 out of 18 infected mandibular cheek teeth had reduced regular secondary dentine, with reductions ranging between 27.4% and 89.1% compared to control teeth of matched age and site.
• The reduced dentine levels resulted in significantly broader pulp horns in infected teeth.
• No significant difference was seen in the primary dentine thickness in maxillary teeth when comparing infected teeth with the control, and minor differences in mandibular teeth were not deemed clinically significant.

Implications

• The findings revealed extensive damage to the dental structure in apically infected teeth, primarily by disrupting dentine deposition. This led to significant reduction in the levels of predentine and intertubular dentine, and an increased presence of resting lines.
• The study signifies the importance of maintaining oral hygiene in horses and emphasizes the potential damage that can be caused by apical infections. Such infections could lead to long-term disruption of normal dentine deposition in many infected teeth.