My 1st response to the article ... with apologies in advance for any terseness instigated by my earlier conflicts with the Australian branch of Equine Dental Vets : To my mind, Dr. Ramey makes some very good points ... but is "off with the fairies" when devaluing the importance of regular dental care. I agree wholeheartedly with much of his “false precisions” (… and actually had an article already “in the pipeline” along similar lines … wherever that has got to!). In that regard, some of the contrived terminology of modern day horse dentistry that really irks me include: • “Whole of mouth equine dentistry” ….. is there any other kind? ….. can it be done via the anus perhaps (being the orifice by which such practitioners tend to verbalise such well rehearsed crap). • “Dental equilibrations” ….. I am personally yet to see the finely calibrated protractors, customised spirit levels and other assorted doo-dads required to actually measure their finished product in such fine-tuned detail … but, believe me, some wanker will have them in his war-chest eventually … which, if ever applied correctly, will expose the folly of their very own crapiosa anyway. If “equilibrating” a horse’s molars to the nth degree was necessary …. let alone possible …. I would insist on seeing their supply of the blue imprint paper used by human dentists when checking human molar occlusions after rebuilds or re-capping. • “Bite realignments” … usually relating to the permanent incisors, which is pretty cosy, as the client can actually see the dastardly “before” view … and after upwards of an additional $200 investment … the Osmond Brothers “after” view. Though clients are led to believe that a skewed or otherwise imperfect incisor “bite” is inextricably linked to equally faulty molar occlusion or wear, I have found over my 26 years in the field, that any correlation is largely coincidental. I have seen horses with “perfect” incisor bites that have severe shearmouth/wavemouth/stepmouth/you-name-it-mouth … and conversely, I have seen a multitude with very “imperfect” incisor bites, that have perfectly normal molar wear. • Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ)“dislocation” ….. the jury is still well and truly out on this in my highly sceptical mind. The pro TMJ-ists can provide thousands of horse skulls with irregular wear of the meniscus on these joint surfaces ….. much like would be found in many of us humans I would suggest. The fact is, that although we all chew food in the same general manner, as individuals we put pressure on variable parts of our mouth and hence our own TMJs. I’ll stay out of this one in case I’m proven wrong in the light of new science (…. and shall remain an atheist until besieged by lightning bolts). As mentioned at the beginning, I am at odds with some of Dr. Ramey’s opinions … notably his under-informed views on the reason for, and the requisite regularity of, dental care for horses. My views on various aspects of equine dentistry mentioned on Dr. Ramey’s website can be found in the range of articles on our own website (see pertinent links below). Hence, I’ll restrict myself to just one point of contention here … the value of regular equine dental care, and (to my mind at least) its obvious role in extending the lifespan of domesticated horses : As recently as 30 years ago, a horse over 20 years of age was considered old, and often euthanized in the early stages of emaciation or recurring colic, ostensibly because they were “too long in the tooth”. As advances in equine dentistry have played the second most important role (… the first being the advent of highly processed small particle feeds) in extending their active lives to 35 … and their sedentary lives to 40 and beyond …. I would take any critics to task on the worth of regular dental care for horses. Dr. Ramey is refreshingly frank, and I couldn’t agree more with his contempt for those who use ten-syllable “mind-foggers” to describe two-syllable dental conditions … which may or may not actually exist … or even warrant consideration. But I will argue long and loud that regular dental care for horses IS necessary, and has played a huge part in extending their lifespan in the space of the last three decades. ultimateequinedentistry.au/Articles_files/HORSES%20NO%20LONGER%20LONG%20IN%20THE%20TOOTH%20%3E%3E.pdf ultimateequinedentistry.au/Articles_files/THE%20COMFORT%20FACTOR%20%3E%3E.pdf ultimateequinedentistry.au/Treatment_files/PREVENTATIVE%20DENTAL%20SCHEDULES%3E%3E.pdf
Posted on: Mon, 19 Aug 2013 04:05:22 +0000
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