October 2017 8 Arizona REAL COUNTRY the magazine Mike Barna Publisher mbarna@963realcountry.com (602) 622-3695 Erika Smith Royal Editor erika963realcountry@gmail.com Misty Voitovski Creative Director Contributing Writers Desiree’Byrne, Kim Christman Robin Etnyre, Jim Olson, Liz Potof, Bob Roloff, Brett Spear, Michele Wilson, Jennifer Wolf, JolynYoung 801 W. Wickenburg Way Wickenburg, AZ 85390 (602) 622-3695 ArizonaRealCountry.com Arizona Real Country is owned and published by Barna Broadcasting LLC. No person, organization or party can copy or reproduce the content on our website and/or magazine or any part of this publication without a written consent from the editor’s panel and the author of the content, as applicable. The publisher, authors and contributors reserve their rights with regards to copyright of their work. /ArizonaRealCountry @arizonarealcountry /arizonarealcountry Ask the Vet: Teeth Q: About a week ago my horse suddenly stopped eating hay. He had his teeth done and the hay is good quality. He takes a mouthful, rolls it around and then spits out. He is eating grain along with hay cubes, and drinking water. It started very suddenly, could you suggest what it might be? A: Did this happen before or after his teeth were done? Either way, this kind of problem is a dental issue until proven otherwise. Unless a full dental exam with a speculum was performed at the time of dentistry, you can’t know for certain if the mouth is problem-free. And, if he stopped chewing hay right after being floated, it’s possible that something went wrong during the procedure that needs to be addressed. He could even have a small stick wedged in his teeth that makes processing large volume feeds impossible (true story- I’ve seen this!). Some horses with oral pain have trouble coping with long stem forage even though they are fine with chopped hay and concentrates. In addition, sneaky weeds like thistle and foxtail can turn a horse off their hay, so you may want to take a good look at the flakes when you break open the bales. If there are truly no problems with his mouth and the hay is fine, I have seen this kind of problem rarely in horses with neurological disorders, particularly Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis. If he also starts to have trouble swallowing water and other materials, call your vet right away. Difficulty swallowing is a sign of the rabies virus, so check on your horse’s vaccination status just to be sure he’s covered. Q: My new horse has really bad teeth and scarring on her cheeks from chewing on them while being ridden with a bad bit. Can I rub Anbesol on them so I can keep riding while waiting for the vet to come float them? A: I would not recommend using oral lidocaine gel in this situation, since it seems that the problem is not really where the bit would lie in your horse’s mouth. It could also be risky to numb an important point of communication between horse and rider. While you wait for the vet to come, you can help the situation by rinsing her mouth out with salt water several times a day, and don’t use a noseband while you ride since this would press her cheeks against the sharp edges of her cheek teeth. Incidentally, this would not be caused by any bit but is due to the daily trauma that occurs while they are trying to chew with a neglected mouth. Bit trauma results in painful sores on the corners of the lips, the palate, tongue, and lower jaw just in front of the molars, generally from poor fit, an overly severe mouthpiece or rough hands. If her teeth are in really bad shape, I would be more concerned that she is eating and drinking properly, since poor dentition is a significant cause of choke. If she is dropping wads of poorly chewed feed, I would offer her a soaked diet that will be easier to swallow until the problems can be addressed. Q: If a tooth were cracked what kind of treatment would be involved? How would you diagnose it? What would the approximate cost be for such a treatment? A:The diagnosis and management for a cracked tooth depends on many factors, including the age of the horse, which tooth is involved, the configuration of the crack, and the degree of damage and infection to the sensitive inner structures. A cracked tooth can cause any number of signs, such as discomfort when eating, a foul smell coming from the oral cavity, external swelling or drainage from the tooth root, or based on a history of oral trauma. The first step is to have a thorough oral examination performed by your vet. The only way to do this effectively is to use a speculum that holds the mouth open so the vet can see clearly and explore the teeth and gums with a mirror and dental probes (kind of a supersized version of your own dental exams, minus the gritty polish and tasty bubblegum flavored rinse). This will enable them to determine if the horse has dental caries (tooth decay), abnormal gaps between the teeth that trap feed, abnormal teeth, periodontal pockets, and obvious fractures, as well as the usual ramps, hooks and spikes. If there is suspicion of a fracture, the next step would be to take some radiographs of the jaw to evaluate root involvement and evidence of infection. If a molar is cracked but the fissure does not involve the sensitive structures and does not appear to be infected, you may choose to simply monitor the situation regularly. Occasionally the crack will just be a small fragment shelled off the side of the tooth that can be removed with light traction. On the other hand, the crack may be deep and quite serious. At this point some decisions must be made as to whether to pull the tooth or leave it in place. Molar extraction can be very challenging, particularly in young horses where the roots are still very long and deeply embedded in the jaw. While this procedure can be performed in a well-sedated standing horse with lots of local anesthetic and patience, some are better done under general anesthesia. Aftercare can involve regular flushing and packing changes as the socket fills in, and the horse will require regular dentistry for the rest of its life since the opposite tooth will overgrow with nothing to grind against. I never underestimate the potential difficulty of dental extraction and I learned that one the hard way! I still remember the first one I attempted that looked like a straightforward crack down the middle of the third premolar. Well it turned out to be two mature teeth that were fighting for space in one socket in a very young horse- we ended up going to a general anesthetic and practically had to tie the teeth to a tractor to pull them out! I still break into a sweat thinking about it… Anyways, that was a VERY unusual case that was not apparent on radiographs but ever since then I have a healthy respect for suspicious teeth and the vets that choose to tackle them. As you have probably guessed, the cost can vary widely. A straightforward case involving manual extraction of a loose fragment would barely cost more than the actual exam, while a complicated surgical procedure with extensive follow-up would be in the thousands. If you are suspicious that your horse has a crack, your first step is to ask your vet to take a careful look in there.