FAQ

An unsedated examination of a foal's bite is recommended as a part of their very first health check. Annual exams are recommended thereafter. For yearling colts, their next oral exam can often be accomplished at gelding. 

Yes. Dental disease actually becomes more common with age, as their teeth begin to wear out. If anything, older horses benefit more from regular oral care. 

They may not express it clearly to us, but horses can experience all the same kinds of physical pain that we do. They have all of the same nerves and anatomy required, and studies that look at stress hormones, eating or movement behaviours and subtle facial expressions, all support that horses experience pain and discomfort from the same sorts of problems that we do. 

Most forms of dental disease and oral pain do not cause horses to visibly change how they eat. They are still hungry, so they will chew around the painful area or simply suffer through it. Even a horse with a broken jaw will spend all day trying to chew its food. Dental disease will continue to cause pain until it is treated, and can lead to more complicated disease if left untreated for a long time. 

No. Sometimes this appears to be true, when a broken tooth is only missing part of the crown and the pulp is still alive and healthy inside the tooth. In this case, the tooth will continue to erupt and will look normal again once the horse had worn through the broken part down to intact tooth. But if the break has lead to the death of the pulp, then the tooth is dead and will be a persistant source of inflammation, infection and pain, until it is extracted or (occasionally) treated with root canal therapy. Radiographs are necessary to determine this. 

The vast majority of senior horses do very well with anesthesia, and especially with standing sedation. In fact, most of our patients are well over 20 years old, and 30+ is not rare.  An otherwise healthy senior horse is expected to heal from surgery as well as a younger patient. 

If your horse has a known health condition (such as cardiac, liver, kidney, or endocrine disease, or severe lameness that would hamper their ability to stand or get up and down in their stall), we would ask you to forward current medical records and may consult with your veterinarian and other specialists to formulate a treatment plan and recommendations.

Not at all. Generally your horse can resume it's normal feed programme immediately after surgery, including eating hay and grass. In some cases mash might be recommended for a shorter period of time, if so, this will be indicated in your aftercare instructions.

We usually recommend 7 days with no work (including lunging) after tooth extraction surgery,  3 weeks after EOTRH surgery and 2 weeks after sinus surgery. This may vary in more complicated cases, please always refer to aftercare instructions for your particular horse. 

In the majority of cases your horse should be turned out as per their regular schedule, once fully awake from sedation. In rare circumstances, stall rest might be recommended. If so, it will be indicated in your aftercare instructions.

After surgery, we provide the take-home pain medication for your horse, commonly to be administered once a day for 7-10 days, starting the day after surgery. You may also be given antibiotics, if Dr Bishop has concerns, but we try to avoid the overuse of antibiotics. In rare cases your horse may need other drugs and if so, Dr Bishop will discuss his recommendations with your veteriarian.

There are a few reasons why we no longer offer surgery on farm.

The main reason is that we aim to always offer the best possible experience for our patients and a clinic setting will always be a safer option for your horse for any surgery. 

Another reason is that, as Dr Bishop is the only Board Certified Equine Dentist in Ontario, working at clinics means we can see more horses in one day. As we service a large portion of Southern Ontario, it simply takes too much time out of our schedules to travel from farm to farm with all of our surgical equipment and stocks. 

Your follow-up visit should be with your primary care veterinarian. We will share all instructions, records and imaging with your veterinarian and we generally recommend a sedated oral exam 2 wks after sinus surgery and 3 weeks after tooth extraction surgery to ensure the surgery site is healing well. 

Board certified veterinary specialists are vets who have completed advanced training residencies, and passed specialty examinations administered by recognized veterinary specialty organizations. A Board Certified Equine Dentist, under the American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC), has specialized in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases and conditions that affect the teeth, oral cavity, and the adjacent and associated structures. The specialty includes everything from routine oral care and periodontal treaments, through restorations and root canals, to surgeries for dental extractions, bone fractures, oral tumours and sinus diseases.