Equine dentistry – is there a link to performance?

 
Our guest blogger Chris Pearce who is a Recognised Veterinary Specialist in Equine Dentistry explains
Do you know the Five Freedoms?
All animals in the UK are entitled to the five freedoms freedom from hunger and thirst discomfort fear and distress and from pain injury and disease. Recognition of these individual factors in horses can be challenging though as 500 million years of horse evolution as a prey animal has resulted in an innate drive for them to conceal pain and discomfort.
How many horses suffer in silence?

Horses are unable to communicate pain in an obvious way. Dental disease can cause marked suffering through debilitating and painful conditions such as severe overgrowths fractures root abscesses and periodontal disease yet horses will often show no signs. Recognition treatment and prevention of dental disease are fundamental aspects of responsible equine welfare.
Studies have shown that up to 70 of horses and up to 100 of donkeys and geriatric horses have dental disease that would benefit from treatment if identified 123 Classic descriptions of signs of dental disease such as quidding dropping food halitosis bad breath and facial swellings are comparatively rare either being a sudden severe problem like a fracture or most commonly end stage dental disease following many years of deterioration.
Evidence now shows that horses alter their mastication patterns to cope with pain but do not overtly demonstrate this. One study by oral endoscope examination of horses showing no outward signs of dental disease showed that 12 had dental fractures 45 had periodontal disease and 65 had sharp enamel points with cheek lacerations 4 When multiple teeth are affected or swellings appear on the head or a smelly nasal discharge appears then we are alerted to a problem that may have been developing for years.
So does pain causepoor  performance?
Yes pain caused by dental disorders is a significant cause of poor performance in horses but it can be easily overlooked it will not necessarily be associated with an obvious outwardly apparent problem or even one easily viewed by diagnostic imaging techniques at least in the early stages. Research has shown that horses respond to pain in the following ways
Head shakingQuiet behaviourAggressive behaviourAbnormal gait posture balancePoor performance
Pain may persist long after the painproducing stimulus has been removed. It can result in a prolonged pain that may even be considered a disease in itself often termed neuropathic pain.
Which dental disorders do we need to look out for?
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