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Use Of Dental Products In Horses Necessitates Extra Caution

While it can be tempting to apply human products to horses, many don't work the same way across species – and some can even cause harm. Some potentially harmful products to horses are those used in human oral care. Though human and equine teeth have similar structures, they differ drastically in form and function.

One main difference is that equine teeth continually erupt, reports EQUUS magazine. Because of this, the tissue that surrounds the tooth, the periodontium, is responsible for both tooth attachment and tooth eruption.

German researchers tested four materials used in human dentistry on equine periodontium: a paste developed specifically for filling pockets in gums, a temporary cement that affixes crowns and bridges to teeth, a paste used for endodontic (soft pulp tissue inside the tooth) treatments, and an impression material used to prepare implants.

Periodontium cells were collected from a healthy yearling and placed in four petri dishes. The test materials were added to each dish and after 24 hours the cells were examined for any change in appearance. The scientists also tested the cells for signs of inflammation and viability.

The results showed that the impression material and the paste for endodontic treatments damaged or killed the periodontic cells. The researchers concluded that these two products would most likely harm a living horse. The other two materials had no adverse effects on the cells.

Though products used in human dentistry must be used on the horses since there are no equine-specific materials, the team reiterated that the products should first be tested on equine tissues to ensure they cause no harm.

‘Accident-Prone’ Horses May Merit Additional Examination

Though horse owners often joke that their horses seem to be looking for ways to injure themselves, is there a point where a horse may be more than simply “accident prone?” Dr. Amelia Munsterman, Associate Professor of Large Animal Surgery and Emergency Medicine at Michigan State University, tells EQUUS magazine there may be some additional reasons a horse may seem intent to harm himself, including soreness, lameness and neurologic issues.

The first step in determining whether there's an underlying problem is to have the horse thoroughly checked by a veterinarian, including a focused neurologic exam. This exam will put the horse through a variety of movements to see if he knows where his limbs and body are in space. A lameness exam is also helpful as a horse that is sore may alter his gait and the way he moves, causing him to run into things.

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One other thing the vet should check is the horse's vision. Limited sight in one or both eyes will cause difficulty for a horse trying to navigate his surroundings.

If all of these tests yield no concrete answers, the horse may simply be very curious; adding toys to his stall may keep him out of trouble, Munsterman says. Ensuring he is in a regular exercise program can assist with channeling his extra energy, and spacing out feedings can also help keep him busy and out of trouble.

When Digging For A Diagnosis Becomes Harmful

Equine and pediatric medicine has many parallels, notes Dr. David Ramey in an article for Horse Network, including a propensity for overdiagnosis.

Ramey draws multiple similarities between the two, including that both horses and children are reliant upon adults to make medical decisions for them. Additionally, neither small children nor horses can talk, so diagnoses must be made on observation and testing.

Ramey says that a horse may have an issue where a diagnosis is warranted, but determining an exact diagnosis can be difficult—and in some cases harmful–to the horse. An ultrasound can be a helpful tool to use if a horse is colicking and a diagnosis on whether surgery is needed is imperative. However, sometimes a precise diagnosis isn't needed. If a horse is older and sore, using every diagnostic tool to determine where it is unsound may not change the treatment or the outcome—it simply adds to the owner's expense. In Ramey's words, “'Overdiagnosis' describes a situation when an abnormality is found, but detection of that abnormality doesn't actually benefit the patient.”

Though vets have multiple diagnostic tools at their disposal, their use doesn't always behoove the horse or the owner. Using every tool available to find a diagnosis might physically harm the horse: It's imperative that the owner and vet agree that the benefit outweighs the possible risk of the test or procedure.

Psychologically, naming the issue may change the perception of what a horse can do. Some owners then become focuses on “fixing” the problem, adding in supplements and other treatments that the horse may not need. Finally, the financial strain on owners who choose to offer treatments to horses that may not garner long-term improvement can be immense.

Ramey offers some thoughts on why veterinarians may seek to over diagnose the equines in their care:

Industry influence
Defensiveness
Incentives

Owners may attempt to seek out concrete diagnoses for their own peace of mind; uncertainty is not well tolerated by most people.

The benefit—to both horse and owner–of performing a test or procedure should be discussed before an owner agrees to pay for it. Many equine conditions improve on their own, so immediately throwing every test and procedure at the horse may result in the same diagnosis as waiting and not doing additional tests.

Study: Too-Tight Nosebands Can Lead To Nasal Bone Damage In Horses

A new study X-rayed the heads of 144 horses and found many showed bony changes where the noseband typically sits. Though the scientists stress that their study doesn't provide evidence of a link between the noseband, its tightness and the lesions, they do feel that the lesions warrant further investigation on welfare grounds.

The use of too-tight nosebands is concerning to veterinarians, scientists and other equine welfare advocates who worry that the device, if used too tightly, causes distress and applies too much pressure to the tissues in the horse's head, potentially injuring both the tissue and the bone beneath it.

The study used 144 mature Warmblood horses, all used in the Mexican Army and based in Mexico City. Each horse began his career in training for dressage, showjumping and eventing. Noseband tightness is not routinely checked with any type of gauge. The horses were evaluated both physically and with an X-ray. The physical exam looked for lesions, pain on palpation or white hairs where the noseband or curb chain rest.

A week later, X-rays were taken and assessed by veterinarian diagnostic imaging specialists who knew nothing about the horses they were studying. The X-rays were examined for bone remodeling, radiographic opacity and soft tissue thickness in the areas where the noseband meets the lower jaw and nasal bones. They reported bone thickening in the nasal bones of 6.9 percent and 8.3 percent of the horses, and bone thinning in 33.3 percent and 56.9 percent of horses. The radiologists found increased bone deposition in 18.8 percent and 32.6 percent of the lower jaws of horses.

The scientists conclude that these results are the first evidence of bone lesions in the areas typically subjected to pressure from restricted nosebands. They note that this deformation of bone for competitive advantage is difficult to justify on ethical grounds.

Read the full study here.