Regular dental exams by a trained professional should be part of your horse’s health maintenance program. Young horses need dental care more often than older horses; horses between the age of 2 and 5 should have a dental exam every six months, while horses over five should have an annual exam.
If your veterinarian doesn’t offer dental care, ask him or her to recommend someone. Referral equine hospitals and university veterinary schools usually have someone on staff who does dental work.
“There are very good dentists who aren’t actually veterinarians, but it’s becoming more of a specialized field,” says Adam Cayot, DVM, a veterinarian/dentist with Peterson & Smith Equine Hospital in Ocala, Fla. “State laws are changing, and some states are trying to require a veterinary license to do dentistry.”
Before entrusting your horse’s dental care to someone other than a vet, ask for certification. You want to know they have been properly trained. The Academy of Equine Dentistry and the International Association of Equine Dentists (IAED) are both good sources of certification.
Keep in mind, if a dentist is not a veterinarian, he or she should practice with the supervision of a veterinarian who is licensed in your state. Only licensed vets are legally able to administer sedatives, which are typically used for dental work.
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