Cardinal Equine Veterinary Dentistry
Cardinal Equine is a mobile equine veterinary dentistry service that provides routine and advanced dental care to equines of all ages in Bucks, Montgomery, and Chester Counties in southeastern Pennsylvania. We work closely with your regular veterinarian or dental care provider to make sure your horse or donkey gets the high-quality dental care that we believe all equines deserve. And we do it at your home farm. Whether your horse needs a routine oral exam and float or requires a complex tooth extraction, we are here to help.
The Way We Do Dentistry
Most horses (and donkeys!) benefit from having an annual oral exam and potential float once a year starting from about 1 year old. This is the age at which their first permanent cheek teeth begin to erupt into their mouths and we start caring for teeth they will have the rest of their lives. Although young horses rarely have severe abnormalities, they often have wolf teeth and sharp points that can interfere with training, bitting, and a good relationship with their riders and trainers. An annual exam can help prevent these problems from becoming severe training issues. As horses age, they may continue to deal with sharp points, but they can also develop other concerns, including:
- gaps in the teeth (diastemata),
- fractured or missing teeth,
- overgrown or undergrown teeth,
- wavemouth,
- stepmouth,
- temporomandibular joint issues,
- and many others.
As horses reach their very senior years, annual exams help identify the expiration of their teeth and our skilled veterinarians will help you navigate management issues that result when horses have trouble chewing and digesting hay.
Cardinal Equine Veterinary Dentistry
01
When scheduling your appointment we will give you a 2 hour arrival window and text you when we are on our way.
02
Dr. Lin will discuss any concerns or new medical history with you while our technician sets up the equipment.
03
We will usually examine your horse or donkey in their stall, though if they live out we may use a wash stall or run-in shed.
04
We will make sure your horse is healthy enough to be sedated and then we inject him or her with a standing sedative. We perform almost all of our exams under sedation because we find that the horses are more relaxed, allowing us to conduct a more thorough and complete examination and complete any necessary treatment more quickly. This means your horse spends less time with their mouth open which puts less stress on the TMJ (jaw joint.)
05
Once we have done a thorough exam, we will let you know what we have found and make a treatment plan. This is often as simple as a routine float, but can be much more complicated. Most conditions can be treated on the farm, but not all.
06
After your appointment, your horse will need to spend about 45 min to 1 hour waking up from the sedation before he can go back to eating or turnout. We will email you a summary of your appointment and a recommendation for when your horse may need to be seen again. We will also communicate any relevant findings to your regular veterinarian or dental care provider.