Teeth Question

[Horsin Again]

Need some help or better understanding, just got my new show gelding in today and as I was going over him I found 2 very large "Bumps" on his lower jaw. He is 4 years old, and my friend said that she had seen that in younger horses when they do not loose their caps. So when I called my vet to question her about it, she said don't worry, it just looks ugly for a while but he will loose his caps and the teeth will come in. Because it is VERY obvious now that there are bumps and I am afraid this would not be good in halter class !

So my question is, has anyone else seen this and will the bumps go away ? Should I have another vet come out and pull the caps ? Any help ?? I will try to take pics tonight

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I just had my 2 year old to the dentist last week. I had taken him to the local vet because he was collecting chewed grass between teeth and lips. I had to remove the wads with my fingers. Common sense says that is not good. Vet said he has loose caps but they will fall out by themselves. Not to worry. Since he is not a mini-vet, I made the appointment with the vet/dentist recommended by members of the miniature horse club. The dentist removed the caps and the permanent teeth were coming in. He also removed the wolf teeth, which were in a bad spot. No more chewed grass! I can tell his mouth is much "happier".

My sister also took her 14 year old stallion that has a bad mouth. The dentist said it was caused by caps not being removed and the permanent teeth could not come in properly. Just like people!

Ask the vet to remove the loose caps. And check for wolf teeth. That may not be your problem, but it is my recent dental experience.

 

[Matt73]

About 2 weeks ago I went in to the barn to find that Royal hadn't finished his hay and was quidding. He had the same two bumps you're describing. He was trying to eat, but couldn't. I mushed up some food and he slurped that up. The vet was called and came the next morning. They turned out to be caps that were hanging on. The vet yanked them off, gave him a float and he was eating away 20 mins. later

They were all due for a float and I was going to have the vet out the following week anyway.

 

[Dona]

Your boy needs to have those caps removed....NOW! I had a mare about the same age years ago, who also had two huge bumps on her lower jaw...looked like golf balls! I had my vet look at her & he said the same thing, that they were just tooth bumps that would go away when her adult teeth came back in. So, I waited. At age 6, they were STILL there!

It was about then that I first heard of Carl Mitz. He did a seminar for our club & I had him look at my mare. Unfortunately...those golfball sized bumps were now "permanantly" calcified...and she would have them the rest of her life. Sometimes, Minis NEED to have those caps pulled, as they don't always come out on their own. If you let you boy go on a "wait & see" ...... he just may end up with those bumps forever!

 

[Sandee]

Quite a few vets don't know much about teeth. First the caps on bigger horses might fall out with no problem but minis tend to retain their caps. When that happens they are set up for all sorts of problems. The least of them is retained food under those caps that can cause infection.

Carl is great with the horses and I we could "clone" him!

 

[Becky]

Your boy needs to have those caps removed....NOW! I had a mare about the same age years ago, who also had two huge bumps on her lower jaw...looked like golf balls! I had my vet look at her & he said the same thing, that they were just tooth bumps that would go away when her adult teeth came back in. So, I waited. At age 6, they were STILL there!It was about then that I first heard of Carl Mitz. He did a seminar for our club & I had him look at my mare. Unfortunately...those golfball sized bumps were now "permanantly" calcified...and she would have them the rest of her life. Sometimes, Minis NEED to have those caps pulled, as they don't always come out on their own. If you let you boy go on a "wait & see" ...... he just may end up with those bumps forever!

Ditto! I have a 6 yr old mare here that had not had any dental work done before I got her this past spring. She has calcified tooth bumps that likely would not be there if she had dental care when she was younger.

 

[susanne]

DEFINITELY get a second opinion...from an equine dentist or vet knowledgeable about mini dental issues. In addition to retained caps, crowded mini jaws can cause teeth to come in crooked, creating other problems

When Scarlet developed a swelling on her face, the vet acted like I was an idiot for suggesting tooth problems; she completely dismissed the idea of retained baby caps and tooth bumps even happening.

She diagnosed a bee sting or insect bite.

The abscess burst and we cleaned and treated, and the swelling seemed to diminish, so I thought perhaps she was right. Then it started up again, this time with puss.

I called a different vet, and again mentioned my thoughts about it being tooth related. After checking her out, she agreed that it was likely, x-rayed, and discovered that the roots of the tooth in question were infected. She thought that the jaw was too crowded and the tooth took the path of least resistance, coming in very crooked.

Scarlet is now back on antibiotics and will need to have the tooth extracted. Since the infection is contained, the antiobiotics could not/ can not totally knock it out, thus the need to extract. Once that is healed, she will need yearly floating to correct uneven growth on the lower jaw due to the missing tooth.

This is not to say that she wouldn't have needed the extraction if the first vet had gotten it right, but I am angry that this vet totally ignored my concerns -- she didn't x-ray or even thoroughly examine her mouth.

So PLEASE insist on proper, knowledgeable treatment of your horses' teeth!

 

[Charlotte]

So PLEASE insist on proper, knowledgeable treatment of your horses' teeth!

Ditto, ditto, ditto! And start paying attention to their teeth when they are just month old babies. Just make it a habit to to look at/in their mouth every month or so. Actually, their whole life! I cringe every time I see pretty youngsters sold for cheap pets because of an off bite and NO ONE EVEN HAD THEIR TEETH FLOATED!

Charlotte