Equine Dentistry

Regular dental examination and treatment is essential for every horse whether it is a retired paddock pet or a successful competition or racing animal.

WestVETS offers a high level of skill together with modern dentistry equipment. Dental treatments, performed at least once a year, are recommended to prevent painful conditions of the mouth. There is no doubt that infrequent or inadequate dental care results in pathology that adversely affects health and performance. Regular dental treatment ensures that your horse can chew its food efficiently and adequately to maintain its body condition.

At WestVETS, we have Veterinarians with post graduate training in Equine Dentistry and you can be assured that they are kept well abreast of continual developments in the field.

All dentistry is performed under sedation with the horse’s head elevated using a veterinary only power float. Specially designed lights illuminate the patient’s mouth enabling visual dentistry – we look, diagnose and treat appropriately. We prefer to use our purpose-built crush at the clinic or our mobile crush at your property to provide a controlled and safe working environment. Every horse is provided with a complete dental record to assist with future dental work ups.

The performance powerfloat is suitable and recommended for all horses, including competition, racing and pleasure horses, as well as brood mares and geriatric patients.

Occasionally a tooth may require extraction. We have a full range of equipment to facilitate intraoral extractions in the standing sedated horse. Simple extractions can be performed in the field, however more complicated cases may require treatment at our purpose-built facility.