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  Discussion on "Thunking" sound when chewing
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Member:
juliem

Posted on Monday, Nov 12, 2007 - 9:35 pm:

Weanling question d'jour: Six month old filly who is in good flesh has a very noticeable "thunking" sound when she chews. It's totally in rhythm with her chewing and seems to be coming from the temporal area. It's relatively loud. I have a feeling this can't be good! Is it something she may outgrow, or as I suspect, something more serious. My vet won't do farm dentals and I don't have her trained to load in a trailer yet. I'd appreciate your thoughts, Julie
Member:
paul303

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - 1:10 am:

If it's truly in the temporomandibular joint area, I guess it could represent a slightly unbalanced "bite". At her age, there is probably some activity in her dentition that causes her "bite" to be "off" for a little while. This could strain the ligaments in the joint and cause a sound like you describe. My background is with human dentistry, and these noises in the joint are quite common. Sometimes the strains are caused by biting down on something large that does not "give". Other causes can be any changes in the dentition that upsets the "bite".
Them's my thoughts.
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - 5:48 am:

Julie,

We got a very malnourished filly who was probably 6 months old at the time. She went through a period where she also "thunked" and it worried me tremendously. I don't recall anything specific that helped it; she did have dental work as needed and is a healthy 5 year old mare now.

I do remember she did have a very "wavey" mouth. Her teeth looked like some kind of dinosaurs. And at some point she had caps removed.

I'd suggest trying to find an equine dentist to ease your worries.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - 12:41 pm:

Hello Julie,
TMJ "thunking" in horses is a new one on me though sometimes the teeth grinding can be quite loud that it makes a "crack-like" noise and certainly cheek teeth are rapidly changing at this time giving credence to Lee's idea. There are reports in the literature of degenerative and septic conditions of this joint but since you do not mention abnormal mastication this seems unlikely. I look forward to any more information on this.
DrO
Member:
ajudson1

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - 4:03 pm:

DrO,

Our horse did not "crack" she "thunked", lol!! If it comes to me at what point it went away; like after dental work, I'll post. All I remember is it was really loud and disturbing and I think it was only when she ate grain/pellets not hay.

Julie, does she thunk while eating hay, and while grazing too? Or just when eating grain. I seem to remember that the one vet who did her teeth thought it was strictly a teeth issue. I had 2 dentists and one vet do teeth over the last 4-5 years. They don't all agree on what is what, so let me think on it and see if I can remember something helpful for you.
Member:
juliem

Posted on Tuesday, Nov 13, 2007 - 7:27 pm:

I'll get her looked at in the next couple of weeks. She does it always while eating hay, not so much when eating pellets or grazing the short grass. It's not a crack or a click or a grinding noise---like Angie said it's a thunk, thunk thunk....
I'd hate for her to lose condition this time of the year, so naturally I'm worried. Thanks all, I'll keep you posted! Julie
Member:
pbauer

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 - 1:12 am:

Dear Julie,

I also agree with, Lee: "Other causes can be any changes in the dentition that upsets the "bite".

How about a milk tooth sliver? www.hanne.com/teeth-photos.htm Explanation near the bottom of the page.

Kind Regards,
Tonya
Member:
juliem

Posted on Wednesday, Nov 14, 2007 - 3:51 pm:

That's an interesting site Tonya, thanks for the link. Sure makes you feel for those horses who never get dental work! I have an appointment with a vet who specializes in dentistry and will come to my place next Tuesday if it stops raining and my road to the barn dries up! I'll ask her about the milk tooth sliver and I'll be sure to let you know what she says. In the meantime, I'll just continue to worry and speculate! Thanks, Julie
Member:
juliem

Posted on Sunday, Nov 25, 2007 - 12:02 am:

Well, the equine dentist came today and I wasn't overly impressed. She is a DVM as well. She did a full dental on the filly as she had some sharp points and a back tooth that was a bit high, but she couldn't see anything that seemed to be a cause for the "thunking". She said it may be like a person whose knuckles crack. And yes, she is still "thunking". Except of course when the dentist was listening--not a sound!!! I do think it's not as loud as it was, but maybe I'm just getting used to it. The girl is growing really well and seems to be in good flesh under a coat of hair that a yak would be proud of!
Member:
paul303

Posted on Monday, Nov 26, 2007 - 1:09 am:

Julie, my mare "thunked" also during the first few years of her life ( she's 27 now ). She also had a lot of "tongue" action ( hence her nickname, "Frenchie" ). Although she won her futurity, her tongue action during that class was excruciatingly embarrassing and elicited much laughter from the bleachers. During her "thunking" time, she also ground her teeth to the point that it could buckle your knees if you were within hearing distance. I really think that her problems ( although they did not faze her in the least )were due to the changing dentition because they disappeared completely as she matured.
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