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 Veteran
Posts: 256
 
| How often do you float or have an equine dentist work on your horses? Which do you prefer and why? |
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Married to a Louie Lover
Posts: 3303
 
| Annually unless the dentist feels like we need to do one more often. Sometimes a new one will go a little long to get on the same schedule as the rest of the barn...
As far as vet vs dentist, dentist hands down. I had a vet do a basic float in one of my first horses that I owned “on my own” after college for 2 or 3 years, he was a hot mess when I changed barns and we had an actual dentist look at him. Solved a few issues we were having too.
I guess I don’t let my general physician handle my dental work....soooo I don’t let my vet handle my horses, unless of course your vet is also certified in dental work. |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12841
 
| For me, it depends on the age of the horse. 2-4 years I usually have them floated 2 to 3 times a year. I ALWAYS have them floated before they go to the trainer to get broke. Mine are checked once a year and many times older horses do not need to be floated that often. I bought a 14 year old broodmare and had hers floated right after I bought her. I read an article about floating horses' teeth over 40 years ago. I started having my horse's teeth floated back then. Everyone thought I was crazy. It took about 10 years after that before people realized the importance of equine dentistry. |
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Location: Middle TN | Took 2 to an equine vet Friday for their regular yearly shots/coggins and pre-race vet check and only 1 needed to be floated. Per the vet, not all horses need to be floated yearly just depends on the horse/confirmation. The one that didn't get floated is 23 yr old mare that I have had her for 15 years and have only needed to have her teeth floated 6 times. Then there is the 10 yr old gelding that we will now be having him floated every 6 months - he started refusing the bit and shaking his head a couple of months ago. |
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 Off the Wall Wacky
Posts: 2981
Location: Louisiana | Generally I get them checked once a year, unless they give me a reason to do it more often.
I have used both vets and equine dentists in the past, and the past few years I have been sticking with my vet.
It's something I've gone back and forth on as far as pros/cons, but I have had good results with my vet and will continue to use him.
Edit: I guess I should add that when I say "vet" I don't mean just any local vet...he's specifically an equine vet specializing in performance horses.
Edited by dashnlotti 2018-04-30 12:23 PM
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Veteran
Posts: 217
| I'd only let a vet do it if they were specialized in an equine practice. With that said all dentists aren't taught the same either. Honestly dreading the day our dentist wants to retire. He will let us feel inside their mouth, show us what part he's taking down and why, and let us feel the end result.
He doesn't sedate, unless there is a serious risk and you would have to contact your vet to schedule them together. Only one is a little funny about it if he gets his tool turned up too high. He has severe scarring and had severe hooks to where it cut his glove when examining him. A dentist did his teeth six months prior to this and this horse is nine years old.
I'd find someone that wouldn't get agitated with the 3000 questions I ask in his visit. They'd have to ask if he's doing something not normal or having problems, what he's doing well, and he'll ask what bit I ride in since I've had two horses with extremely shallow pallets. Find someone who cares, will ask questions, and help you understand :)
ETA: We typically go for yearly but did six months because he was coming out in the middle of show season instead of the beginning and I was having trouble with my guy. If things aren't quite right he'll be coming out in July again, if not it'll be March-ish again next year.
Edited by mgander 2018-04-30 12:18 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| I always use my vet, who has had an exclusive equine practice last 25 years. My 13 year old mare is going on 2 years and has NOT needed a float. I have her checked every 6 months and so far, she is still good. We did a float on my 4 year old and had his wolf teeth pulled as a 3 year old. I am sure there are good dentists out there, BUT only a vet should be sedating. I know a few cases where non vets sedated and killed horses. |
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Sparklin Cowgirl
Posts: 4379
| My young ones typically once a year (maybe twice if there is a need). But my older horses every other year. My vet (dentistry is his specialty) finds our herd interesting because we can feed so much hay in the winter and they graze year round, their teeth age really well and pretty "natural" |
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Veteran
Posts: 256
| FLITASTIC - 2018-04-30 10:31 AM I always use my vet, who has had an exclusive equine practice last 25 years. My 13 year old mare is going on 2 years and has NOT needed a float. I have her checked every 6 months and so far, she is still good. We did a float on my 4 year old and had his wolf teeth pulled as a 3 year old. I am sure there are good dentists out there, BUT only a vet should be sedating. I know a few cases where non vets sedated and killed horses.
Thanks, this part is good to know. |
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Expert
Posts: 5293
| Blueberry3 - 2018-04-30 11:28 AM
FLITASTIC - 2018-04-30 10:31 AM I always use my vet, who has had an exclusive equine practice last 25 years. My 13 year old mare is going on 2 years and has NOT needed a float. I have her checked every 6 months and so far, she is still good. We did a float on my 4 year old and had his wolf teeth pulled as a 3 year old. I am sure there are good dentists out there, BUT only a vet should be sedating. I know a few cases where non vets sedated and killed horses.
Thanks, this part is good to know.
Yea, the worst one was the person went all the through the jugular vein INTO the artery behind it. Dropped that sucker dead. I have heard of cases of people doing this with banamine accidentally to but who knows. I figure my vet is licensed, and knows what to do if they do have a reaction. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 324
| My performance ponies are done annually for maintenance unless they need done more often. Youngsters and ones with dental issues get seen every 6 months. My retired mare gets hers done every other year unless she seems like she needs them floated.
My dentist is wonderful and texts me whenever it's time to get them done. I have no idea how he keeps up with all his clients but he remembers me every time and all my horses' names/issues. |
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Veteran
Posts: 256
| Thank you for the replies! I have some things to consider but this helps :) |
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| The timeline of how often a horse needs to be floated is variable. When they're younger, they may need to be floated more if they have loose caps or problems starting that can be caught and managed early. We always tell people it's good to have them checked at least every year, because when they start losing weight, you've waited too long, and the problem can be harder to treat and correct.
I prefer to use a veterinarian that is knowledgeable and skilled in equine dentistry practices. Veterinarians go to school specifically to understand the why and how of medicine, including the overall health and well being of the animal, which is necessary when treating the whole horse and keeping them healthy. Equine dentists are there to float teeth and move to the next horse; if they are diagnosing or treating any issues in your horse, that is considered practicing veterinary medicine without a license and is entirely illegal, even if you live in a state where they do not need to work under the supervision of a vet.
Dr. Jack Easley is one of the vets leading the equine dentistry field, and this is an excerpt from an article he wrote:
"Dentistry involves doing an examination, making a diagnosis, and treating a condition," says Jack Easley, DVM, MS of Easley Equine Dentistry in Shelbyville, KY, who is also a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) Dentistry Committee. "It's very different from just floating teeth, which is no longer an acceptable quality of care for dentistry."
Here's the full article which provides points on both sides of the argument:
http://equimed.com/health-centers/dental-care/articles/using-a-vete...
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 You get what you give
Posts: 13030
Location: Texas | How often depends on a couple factors:
1- age of horse
2- dental health at time of visit.
When you buy a new horse, you should have their mouth evaluated during the pre purchase exam (hopefully you do one) or soon after purchasing the horse to evaluate their current state of oral health. After that point, how often you check them changes.
Horses 4 and under IMO should be checked at the fewest twice a year, sometimes every 4 months if they still have caps. Once all their molar caps are gone, they should be able to go yearly between dental exams.
Horses that have malocclusions like overjet, overbite, underbite need to be evaluated every 6 months at minimum, but usually every 6 months is sufficient.
Horses with history of tooth extraction should be evaluated every 6 months to correct overgrowth in the tooth opposite the extraction, because it won't be wearing normally.
Horses with wave mouths it depends on the severity of the wave and how much can be corrected at one visit. They may need to be evaluated every 3 months until the teeth are corrected sufficiently. Once it's corrected you should be OK to go once a year.
And then there's the geriatric stage where teeth start to wear away... That can be hit or miss. Depends on how bad their teeth are and how much can actually be done. For the oldies, I would check yearly until something comes up that would require more frequent visits. At some point they won't have functioning occlusal surface to work with anymore and it becomes futile to keep taking tooth off, and then you switch to specific geriatric diets like equine senior or mashes or alfalfa pellets etc..
As far as vet versus dentist, I really like what we do where I work.
The practice owner doesn't do any routine dental work anymore but does do oral surgery and extractions. He trained one of our techs to do dentals and he's one of our equine dental providers. He does an excellent job, and has the ability to easily come find one of the doctors if there's a problem.
Of the other two vets, my other boss really enjoys dentistry and does a lot of it. He does as good of a job as our EDP does and also has the medical background to treat more complicated issues.
Aaannndddd then there's me. I'm competent at basic dentistry and correcting certain issues. I haven't had quite as much experience yet (been out of school almost 1 year) so when I run into something really off the wall or crazy I have three-four other people at work to assist me.
Long story longer, there's no good answer on who is the best, vet or dentist. There's no blanket answer. It depends on the individual. I think you absolutely need a good relationship with a veterinarian in your life if you have athlete horses and I would use their opinion of who to do your dentistry. If they are deeply involved with sports medicine they're likely to be interested in teeth as teeth go hand in hand with sports medicine. Or they may hate it and have someone they trust to refer their dental work. |
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Location: in the ozone | Ours are checked annually by our dentist (only) and then worked on if they are in need of work. |
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