Equine malocclusion - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

An equine malocclusion is a misalignment between the upper and lower jaw

Jaw

The jaw is any opposable articulated structure at the entrance of the mouth, typically used for grasping and manipulating food. The term jaws is also broadly applied to the whole of the structures constituting the vault of the mouth and serving to open and close it and is part of the body plan of...

s of a horse

Horse

The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...

or other equine

Equus (genus)

Equus is a genus of animals in the family Equidae that includes horses, donkeys, and zebras. Within Equidae, Equus is the only extant genus. Like Equidae more broadly, Equus has numerous extinct species known only from fossils. This article deals primarily with the extant species.The term equine...

. It results in a faulty bite with the upper and lower teeth

Horse teeth

Horses' teeth are often used to estimate the animal's age, hence the sayings "long in the tooth", "straight from the horse's mouth" and "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth".- Types of teeth :At five years of age a horse has between 36 and 44 teeth...

failing to meet correctly. name="dictionary.reference.com/browse/malocclusion">www.dictionary.com Malocclusions can cause pain to the horse and may also lead to weight loss and other eating problems related to poor chewing or loss of appetite. In addition, discomfort can lead to poor behavior when the animal is ridden

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

or driven

Driving (horse)

Driving, when applied to horses, ponies, mules, or donkeys, is a broad term for hitching equines to a wagon, carriage, cart, sleigh, or other horse-drawn vehicle by means of a harness and working them in this way...

, particularly if a bit is used in the horse's mouth.

Caudal hooks

Caudal hooks are defined as when the dominant lower or upper last molar

Molar (tooth)

Molars are the rearmost and most complicated kind of tooth in most mammals. In many mammals they grind food; hence the Latin name mola, "millstone"....

overhang the opposing molar. They can be hereditary and may result because a horse

Horse

is born either parrot-mouthed or monkey-mouthed. They can also be caused secondary to another molar malocclusion

Malocclusion

A malocclusion is a misalignment of teeth or incorrect relation between the teeth of the two dental arches. The term was coined by Edward Angle, the "father of modern orthodontics", as a derivative of occlusion, which refers to the manner in which opposing teeth meet.-Presentation:Most people have...

that forces the jaw to disalign. This malocclusion results in problems for the horse when eating. It prevents the horse from chewing side to side freely which causes incorrect and excessive tooth wear. The soft tissues of the mouth can be damaged because the hooks are sharp and can cut them. Caudal hooks will also cause discomfort to the horse during riding. To fix caudal hooks, the dominant molar must be reduced, preventing extreme wear to the opposing molar, and rounded so that the soft tissue

Soft tissue

In anatomy, the term soft tissue refers to tissues that connect, support, or surround other structures and organs of the body, not being bone. Soft tissue includes tendons, ligaments, fascia, skin, fibrous tissues, fat, and synovial membranes , and muscles, nerves and blood vessels .It is sometimes...

is not traumatized.

Rostral hooks

Rostral hooks occur when the dominant upper front premolar

Premolar

The premolar teeth or bicuspids are transitional teeth located between the canine and molar teeth. In humans, there are two premolars per quadrant, making eight premolars total in the mouth. They have at least two cusps. Premolars can be considered as a 'transitional tooth' during chewing, or...

s overhang the lower premolars. They can be hereditary or developmental meaning that the horse can have an overbite

Overbite

Overbite refers to the extent of vertical overlap of the maxillary central incisors over the mandibular central incisors.Overbite may also refer to:* Overbite , an extension for the Mozilla Firefox web browser....

at birth or can have another malocclusion that forces the disalignment of the jaw. Rostral hooks can result in improper and extreme molar wear especially to the opposing lower premolar. Other problems include bit

Bit (horse)

A bit is a type of horse tack used in equestrian activities, usually made of metal or a synthetic material, and is placed in the mouth of a horse or other equid and assists a rider in communicating with the animal. It rests on the bars of the mouth in an interdental region where there are no teeth...

problems and soft tissue damage. Fixing Rostral hooks requires that you reduce the dominant portion of the upper premolar and round the unopposed portion smoothly towards the gum. Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance

Preventive maintenance has the following meanings:#The care and servicing by personnel for the purpose of maintaining equipment and facilities in satisfactory operating condition by providing for systematic inspection, detection, and correction of incipient failures either before they occur or...

is required to prevent recurring Rostral hooks.

Ramps

When there is excessive height to the lower premolars, the horse has a condition known as ramps. They occur when the upper from the premolar deciduous cap or baby tooth is kept resulting in the abnormal growth of the permanent premolar. The problem with ramps is that they prevent the horse from freely chewing side-to-side. This causes improper and over wear of the molars. It will also, along with an underbite, cause severe discomfort when a bit is placed in the horses mouth. To solve the problem, the dominant tooth must be reduced to allow the opposing one to recover.

Enamel points

Enamel points are sharp points that develop on the inside of the lower molars and outside of the upper molars. They occur over time as the horse stops chewing as far sideways. This makes the unopposed edge tooth get longer. When the edge tooth gets longer it forms razor sharp points. They cause pain to the horse because they irritate the soft tissue of the gums when the horse eats and when certain equipment is used in the mouth resulting in the tongue and cheeks being pulled into these points. To resolve this problem the points must be filed off.

Sheared molar table

A sheared molar table is the extreme angulation of the chewing surface of the molars. It is caused by a lack of side-to-side chewing. It is a very severe problem because the horse cannot chew sideways. This results in the horse not being able to break down its food properly leading to malnutrition. This malocclusion can be resolved by correcting the angle of the molar table.

Wave complexes

Wave complexes occur when the molar arcade develops an uneven surface with a wave-like appearance. It usually occurs in the pre-molars and molars. It generally occurs secondarily to other malocclusions. It results in prematurely worn out teeth, periodontal pocketing, decay, and tooth loss. It also prevents the horse from properly grinding its food as it makes side-to-side chewing difficult. A resolution for this problem is the reduction of the high complexes. This allows and encourages the horse to chew side-to-side.

Stepped molars

These occur when the molar arcade develops a stepped appearance. Its main cause is a missing tooth which allows the opposing teeth to grow into the gap, but it can occur because of uneven wear or if the deciduous cap or baby tooth is retained too long preventing normal tooth growth. It can prevent the horse from freely chewing and cause the improper wear of the molars and incisors. A solution is to reduce the high molar allowing proper chewing. Preventative maintenance must be used to stop this from happening again in the event that it was caused by a lost tooth.

Accentuated transverse ridges

These are enlarged ridges that run across the chewing surfaces of the molars. They can result from the disalignment of the jaw or the horse is not chewing in a proper sideways motion. They are caused when a hard spot on one tooth digs into and wears out a soft spot on another tooth. They interfere with normal chewing and cause excessive wear to the opposing molars. They can also result in periodontal disease and diastema. To resolve these you must reduce the enlarged ridges to let the opposing teeth recover and allow the horse to chew correctly.

Periodontal pockets

Periodontal pockets occur when gum disease makes pockets around the teeth. Food gets caught in these pockets and causes even more decay. The disease progresses as the horse is unable to chew properly. It can lead to infection, abscesses in the mouth, and tooth loss. It should be corrected as early as possible, and it is very difficult to stop. If the disease is caught early it can be prevented.

Diastema

Diastema is defined as a space between two adjoining teeth. Food can be trapped between teeth leading to severe periodontal disease and poor dental health overall. It is very difficult to correct. The unopposed overgrowth of the opposing teeth must be reduced.

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