Equine Dentistry

I am a PG2 Trained Equine Dentist, available throughout the South-West of WA, will travel further if required, feel free to contact me with any questions.

What are the signs of problems?
There are so many different symptoms you can see in a horse who has problems in its mouth, from nothing noticeable through very mild and to severe in character. It is important to remember that the horse can and will suffer in silence, so even if your horse seems "normal", this is no reason not to have its mouth checked on a regular basis.

• Head shaking, head tossing and head shyness
• Feed packing
• Pain in the face
• Bad breath or smell from nose
• Bitting problems
• Reluctance to eat
• "Acting out" when ridden or driven
• Dropping of food from mouth
• You might find large particles of straw and oats in the manure
• Colics and impactions of the throat
• Larger amounts of feed than normal without gaining weight
• Losing weight and condition, dull coat
• Frothing and excessive salivation
• Swelling and deformities of the face
• Nose bleed
• Sinusitis with or without discharge
• Respiratory problems if swellings in the nasal tract
• Loss of performance
• Draining absess from jaw

Additionally, many problems under saddle can be tooth-related, such as:

• head tossing
• difficulty in picking up the canter or in performing flying changes
• tilting of the head while riding or difficulty in bending
• refusal to collect
• bucking
• difficulty in getting the horse "on-the-bit" (especially if the horse tends to go behind the bit)
• gaping the mouth

For many performance-related problems, it is often best to check the teeth to rule out that factor.

And Many Others...