Survey of the provision of prophylactic dental care for horses in Great Britain and Ireland between 1999 and 2002.

This research article captures a survey on the maintenance and provision of preventative dental care for horses in Great Britain and Ireland between the years 1999 and 2002, illustrating the common procedures, frequency of care, and the personnel trusted for such responsibilities by horse owners, trainers, and equestrian managers.

Study Population and Main Findings

• 854 horse owners, trainers, and equestrian managers across 10 regions of Great Britain and Ireland were involved in the survey.
• The key findings suggested that 83% of the respondents arranged routine preventative dental care for their horses.
• Of these, 49% conducted this at annual intervals, 30% at bi-annual intervals, while 10% opted to do it only when they felt necessary. Interestingly, 7% did not provide such care at all.

Major dental Procedure Among Horse Owners

• Wolf teeth extraction was a common procedure, with 44% of owners routinely having their horse’s wolf teeth (first premolar) extracted.

Role of Equine Dental Technicians and Veterinarians

• When it came to providing prophylactic dentistry, equine dental technicians (EDTS) were the main service providers for 53% of the respondents.
• Veterinarians took the lead role for 35% of the horse owners.
• 10% of the owners split the responsibilities between EDTS and veterinarians, while 1% preferred other than EDTS or veterinarians.

Confusion Regarding Qualifications

• There was some confusion among horse owners over the qualifications of EDTS, as there wasn’t a recognised British qualification for them until towards the end of this survey in 2001.

Factors Influencing Choice of Service Provider

• Owners cited several reasons for their selection between veterinarians and EDTS for dental care provision.
• These included perceived qualifications, personal recommendations, costs, availability of comprehensive dental equipment and sedation, as well as the time and effort spent on the procedures by each provider.