Modern dental equipment
Justin Stark's equipment set up at his home clinic in Brigham City, Utah.
Justin working with his modern equipment on an equine patient.
A optics headgear designed and produced by L7 Optics by Justin Stark.
Justin uses camera optics to get up close looks at his equine patients.
The earliest records of equine dentistry date back almost 3000 years with Mongolian herders. Archaeologists have unearthed proof that these herdsmen understood certain aspects of dentistry and how it affected their horses. If we fast forward to modern times, within the last 100 years, the equipment that was used wasn’t much different than what the Mongols used. Stone, bone, and even rudimentary steel instruments would have been used around 1000 BC. Modern dentistry, until the last 15 years, was still using different types of picks as well as steel files and rasps.
The last 3 decades has really seen some great advancements in the equipment that can be used in equine dentistry. As equipment has changed, so has the skill and understanding of this profession. Today’s dental equipment consists of high-speed power instruments, bright headlamps, and even visual aids that allow views deep inside the mouth. Instead of a hand rasp being pulled across an entire row of teeth, tooth material can be reduced with high-speed diamond-chip burrs or carbide cutting bits. Today we are VERY detail oriented. The equipment that is available today allows the practitioner to only reduce one portion of a tooth. The entire mouth is addressed, one tiny piece at a time, with precision and exactness.
Some horse owners, and far too many practitioners, are more likely to believe that hand files are still the best option; that they are safer. In reality, if the practitioner doesn’t have the education required to use power instruments, maybe they are better off with the limited capabilities of a hand file. Hand files offer very little precision, but they can still cause severe damage in the mouth if the practitioner isn’t properly educated. Their main use is to only remove the sharp edges of the teeth that cause ulcerations of the cheeks and tongue; they are “floated” across the edges of the teeth. Before precision power instruments, there was limited understanding of how the mouth truly affected the athletic performance of the horse.
Today’s dentistry uses terminology such as EQUILIBRATION (balance), LATERAL EXCURSION (side to side movement of the jaw), and OCCLUSION (contact of opposing teeth). We can measure the horse’s ability to move his jaw and have methods of increasing his ability to grind his feed and provide fluid lateral motion. We better understand the range of motion of the TMJ (jaw joint) and how it affects the horse’s athletic performance. We study how his ability to chew affects his digestion. We understand different types of bits and how different riding disciplines are affected by oral health and conformation. An experienced dental professional has insight on dental problems associated with different breeds, common and uncommon oral problems, methods for avoiding/reducing abnormalities, and how to elongate the functional use of the mouth with age.
A horse owner bears the responsibility of being educated about their horse. It is your job to provide that animal with the best life possible. If you cannot provide expert care on your own, you may need to use skilled and educated professionals to help you provide a better life for your equine partners. Feel free to ask questions to your equine professionals. They should know their trade well enough to provide you with educational and sufficient answers. Above all, enjoy this life. Love those around you. Make sure your horses are happy and healthy!