Equine Dental Work

Yesterday Rio had a day in the dentist's chair. Not really, he didn't sit down, but he did have a session with Dr. Kent Tooman, DVM, getting his (Rio's) teeth floated. What is teeth floating? It's the process a veterinarian performs on a horse's mouth to file, shape and smooth the teeth so the horse's mouth is once again comfortable and as functional as possible. When horses chew, our teeth get worn (we grind hay and grass hard between our top and bottom molars!), and eventually the uneven wear on our teeth makes "points" and sharp edges that poke our cheeks. Dr. Tooman gave Rio a sedative so he would hold still, put a speculum in his mouth so his mouth stayed open, and tied his head (gently) up to an overhead timber in our grooming shed. Rio looks funny and a little weird with his tongue sticking out, as you can see in the photo! Dr. Tooman uses an electric drill with a file attachment to file down the sharp points and edges, and a hand tool to finish. Rio didn't like it very much, and his tongue looked like a geoduck, but he feels much better now. Dr. Tooman and his assistant were very good at this whole process, and considering that Rio didn't want to hold still despite additional doses of sedative, they held him still enough and worked fast to get it all done. They showed us and explained that Rio has a slight "wave mouth" which means that his teeth go up and down like a roller coaster track in his mouth. Before Emily purchased Rio she had another veterinarian do a thorough exam on him, and that vet told her that Rio has a wave mouth and that he would need his teeth floated. I'll have my mouth checked next month when I have my spring vaccinations and check up with our vet. I'll let you know what shots I get and how my mouth looks!