Dental pathologies in incisors, canines and first premolar in adult Chilean horses

Abstract

Dental pathologies have reached a higher veterinary clinical relevance, increasing the number of consultations, treatments and preventive proceedings. In Chilean horses, the information of dental pathologies is inexistent making the research and the data collection in this breed interesting. One hundred horses that came from the Asociación de Rodeo de Concepción, were analyzed between June and September 2007. The materials used were nosetwitch, flashlight, dental probe and intra-oral mirror. The visit started with an interview, followed by an anamnesis and clinical examination. The findings were all registered in a dental examination record. Eighty eight horses presented some kind of dental pathologies (88%). The most frequent pathologies were fractures (46%), tartar (33%) and braquignatia (32%), all of these located in the incisors ('01-'03). Seventy seven horses (55 males and 22 females) had one or more canines (77%); out of those, 38 (49.35%) presented pathologies in canines and most commonly, blind canines (24.67%). There were 16 horses (13 males and 3 females) with one or more of the first premolar (wolf tooth) (16%), none of them mandibular. Only one pathology was found in the first premolar, corresponding to a periodontal disease. Statistical differences linked to sex were found the slant mouth in incisors, and for blind canines.