We couldn’t start dental month and not put some fun Friday facts up about teeth!
How many teeth do horses have?
Up to 44 teeth. But most horses only have 33.
How are horse molars different to human molars?
Horses are born with very long teeth that hide in the skull. As they age, they continually erupt, and therefore their total length gets shorter and shorter, kind of like a pencil as its sharpened and used. Older horses’ teeth are therefore only anchored into the jaw by a small amount. They are very at risk of becoming loose and therefore painful.
Why do we rasp points from teeth and not just cut them off?
Horses’ teeth have multiple shallow pulp cavities containing nerves. Horses’ teeth are also strong to some forces, but brittle to others. By rasping, especially the use of power tools, we minimise the physical trauma to the tooth and the risk of fracture. Cutting teeth is VERY DANGEROUS. There is no way of knowing how close the pulp cavity is. Exposure of the pulp would be extremely painful for a horse.
Should tartar be removed from canine teeth?
YES… commonly fractures hide underneath the tartar which are very painful. If you can safely flick this tartar off with your nail, then you should.
SMILE… have a great day!