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Discussion on Overgrown molar tooth
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Posted on Friday, Aug 23, 2002 - 7:25 am:
I have just had the equine dentist to look at my 11 year old thoroughbred mare. He told me that she has a bad tooth problem and showed me that the second last molar tooth on the bottom is about twice the height of the others. This overgrown tooth has replaced the upper molar and is beginning to grow into the upper jaw. As the dentist was not expecting this sort of a problem, he did not have the appropriate tools with him. He intends to return next week and cut the tooth, presumably level with the others. I am concerned that this may be a painful procedure for the mare. How far does nervous tissue extend into the molar tooth? Obviously, this tooth requires attention, as circular grinding action is not possible. I only purchased the horse at Christmas and she was in bad condition, but is responding well to good feed and care.
Any insight would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Jill Hallam
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Posted on Sunday, Aug 25, 2002 - 4:58 pm:
Hello Jillian,
This is not been well studied in horses teeth and though I have a number of books that address the anatomy of horse teeth, none address this question. On top of that even if we had such a table this tooth being abnormal would not addresss the question either. Let me say however horses tolerate this procedure well if the tooth is not cracked during the procedure. I rarely use cutters for this type job anymore for this reason and perfer to grind them down with power equipment instead. However many experienced equine dentist are able to use cutters effectively.
DrO
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