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  Discussion on Incisor plaque and gingivitis
Author Message
Member:
36541

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 4, 2005 - 2:27 pm:

Hello all. A few days ago while cuddling with my 16 yo Trak mare, I noticed her breath was not as sweet as it has always been(I foaled her). Inspection revealed some evolving gingivitis above her incisors. She has had regular floating all these years, but the developing plaque on her teeth wasn't addressed as I didn't think to ask. Can horses have their teeth cleaned for plaque like we do by the hygienist? Who does it, or is it done as all? Could I do it? Any information or experiences welcome... Stacy
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 5, 2005 - 6:14 am:

Hello Stacy,
It is unusual, though not unseen, to have remarkable plaque formation on the incisors: it usually is a flat yellow color. Are you sure you are not seeing the normal iron staining that almost all horses have on their incisors? Plaque is very common on the canines.

I remove it when I find it with dental scrapping tools but careful use of a small screwdriver would work. I see remarkable gingivitis around the incisors most commonly due to foxtail seedheads in the hay. For more on this see, Care for Horses » Particular Situations & Procedures » Equine Dentistry » Discussion on Sores in the mouth & unhealthy looking gums.... Also running a search in the Site/Net search engine will give you lots of references.
DrO
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Thursday, Jan 6, 2005 - 10:13 pm:

Stacey: I owned a very old gelding ( in good health to 38 ) with no molars who ate watered pelleted mushy feed. His incisors were a constant plaque garden and his canines were calculus factories. As Dr. O said, if your horse is VERY cooperative, you can chip the calculus off the canines with a blunt flathead screwdriver. Sometimes, I used pliers and gently grasped the incisor and rotated the plier. This broke up the deposite and I could flick the calculus off with the screwdriver. I always flavored the "instruments" with a softened peppermint candy or brown sugar. After that, I would moisten and flavor a terrycloth washcloth and gently but firmly massage his gums and incisors ( which he seemed to love ). Even if this didn't get everything off, the regular gum massage would help to strengthen the tissue which was losing tone due to his inability to chew hay. I must qualify this by saying that I am a hygienist ( 30+yrs ) and did my cats and dog's teeth for years. If your horse is good and your hands are steady, and someone can help hold ( not restrain ), you can do it. You need to be able to establish a "fulcrum" by bracing your tool-holding hand against the animal's jaw, or using one hand to grasp or brace on the lower jaw, and bracing your tool-holding hand against that hand ( this, of course, refers to the incisors and the plier or screwdriver ). This insures that if your horse makes a sudden movement, your hand and the instrument in it will follow that movement - hopefully, thus, avoiding a wound to the gingival tissue. Be careful and go slowly....your horse will let you know if you'll be able to do this.
Moderator:
DrO

Posted on Friday, Jan 7, 2005 - 9:36 am:

I use the pliars technique (I usually use a old huge pair of needle holders that I have) on the canines also. It works like a charm but be sure the pliars are applied light enough so that only the calculus is broken up.
DrO
Member:
36541

Posted on Friday, Jan 7, 2005 - 1:30 pm:

Thanks to you both! Yes, it is definetly plaque, although her one year younger full sister, on the same diet and lifestyle for 15 years has none of this. She is lovely about her teeth, always leans into the float unsedated as if to help the vet. I will give the cleaning a try as I have the requisite equiptment and the surgical hand. I think I will add some flavored viscous lidocaine as a prep. I will try to send before and after pics... thanks, Stacy
Member:
Paul303

Posted on Tuesday, Jan 11, 2005 - 10:27 pm:

OOOO Stacey! Flavored lidocaine! Why didn't I think of that? There IS all kinds - Banana, Pina Colada, Bubble Gum.....let us know how it goes, will you please?
Member:
36541

Posted on Sunday, Jan 16, 2005 - 6:14 am:

Our vet was out, said the amount of plaque was remarkable for the location and wondered if it had something to do with minerals in our water. We are on a well, but the horses also have access to a pond. Interestingly, we do get copper staining in the shower if we don't change the sand in the big filter regularly. Anyway, he did some scraping and the plaque was still soft enough that it will be easily removed. She is a doll about her mouth and was very cooperative. The source of the odor is a low spot in the molar arcade where she is quidding a bit of roughage. I'll make the appropriate feed changes - I guess I didn't want to admit that we are both actually going to age!!!!
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