Dentistry
GVEH offers both routine and referral dental services.
This means that we come to you to perform routine dental checks and treatments but also have the ability to offer the most advanced dental techniques available to horses in our hospital.
Our hospital is home to the sole specialist dental equine surgeon in the southern hemisphere and offers the highest quality of care available to dental patients. Dr Denis Verwilghen is a double boarded specialist with a membership of the ECVS (surgery) and EVDCeq (dentistry) and supported by a team of vets and qualified nurses to provide the highest standard of dental care.
Our approach to dentistry:
Similar to human dentistry, horses require annual checks to the status of their dentition, and at times in their life even more regular checks. This is the opportunity to pick up early disease before it becomes clinically apparent.
Many horses will remain symptomless despite severe dental problems. Unfortunately, they seem to cope by altering their chewing patterns and disguising the discomfort.
Good dental investigation and care are basic preventative measures that can avoid dental disease from getting worse and causing other secondary problems such as weight loss, colic, sinus disease and even loss of performance.
At GVEH our aim is to investigate before we treat. For this reason, your horse will be sedated to allow safe and thorough examination of the oral cavity. The routine dental care will consist of
- A thorough clinical examination of the oral cavity including teeth, tongue, and gums.
- A careful reduction of sharp enamel points and equilibration of the dental arcades
- Treatment of gross abnormalities like dental fractures or gum disease
- Preventative measures for symptomless but developing disease of the teeth by use of restorative techniques.
Dental services offered.
Routine
Dentistry
Routine preventative dentistry at GVEH is performed under sedation. We believe this is needed to be able to evaluate the oral cavity in safety and more particularly to allow a thorough accurate examination.
Dental Extractions
Horses may need their teeth extracted for various reasons. Most frequently this is related to tooth root infections, tooth fractures or when there is irreversible severe gum disease surrounding the tooth.
Dental restorations
Similar to human teeth horse teeth can be affected by decay or small chip fractures that can require restoration of the tooth in order to preserve its structural integrity and prevent further disease.
Endodontic treatments
Routine preventative dentistry at GVEH is performed under sedation. We believe this is needed to be able to evaluate the oral cavity in safety and more particularly to allow a thorough accurate examination.
Diastema and Periodontal Disease
Diastemas are gaps between the teeth. Those gaps can have different origins.
Sinus disease investigation and treatment
Horses have large sinus complexes. In case of sinus disease or sinus infection, most horses present with unilateral nasal discharge.
Orthodontics
Facial and dental congenital malformations in horses are not uncommon. Many foals are born with overjet and may eventually develop what is called a parrot mouth.
Congenital and traumatic Maxillo-Facial surgery
GVEH is uniquely placed to treat horses with maxillofacial injury or correction of congenital abnormalities.
