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A Retrospective Dental Study on 5334 Horses in General Practice
Author(s) -
Duncanson G.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
equine veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.82
H-Index - 87
eISSN - 2042-3306
pISSN - 0425-1644
DOI - 10.1111/evj.12486_21
Subject(s) - palpation , medicine , cheek teeth , buccal administration , dentistry , horse , clinical significance , physical examination , cheek , retrospective cohort study , surgery , paleontology , biology
Reasons for performing study Rasping of sharp enamel points ( SEP s) is the most common procedure performed at routine dental examinations; however, there is little evidence to prove the true clinical significance of SEP s [1]. Maxillary SEP s are thought to cause buccal ulceration and pain on external palpation of the cheeks. Mandibular SEP s are thought to cause lingual ulceration. Objectives To examine associations between the presence of SEP s on the cheek teeth rows and the presence of pain on palpation of the cheeks and buccal and/or lingual ulceration. Study design Retrospective clinical case series. Methods Clinical records of routine dental examination performed by 8 veterinary surgeons in a single first opinion practice were examined. Presence of SEP s, buccal and/or lingual ulceration and pain on palpation of the cheeks (externally) were recorded. Chi squared tests were used to examine whether horses exhibiting pain on palpation or oral ulceration were significantly more likely to have SEP s present. Results Prevalence of buccal SEP s was 84.8% and prevalence of lingual SEP s was 84.3%. Five hundred and forty‐eight horses (6.0%) had signs of pain on palpation. Prevalence of buccal ulceration was 5.9%. In contrast, only 0.2% of horses had visible lingual ulceration. Buccal ulceration and pain on palpation were significantly associated with presence of buccal SEP s (P<0.001 for both). Lingual ulceration was not significantly associated with lingual SEP s (P<0.0001). Conclusions Buccal SEP s are common and often result in pain and buccal ulceration. Routine rasping would appear to be justified. Lingual SEP s are common but rarely cause lingual ulceration. The value of routine rasping of lingual SEP s is therefore questionable. Ethical animal research: Research ethics committee oversight not currently required by this conference: retrospective study of clinical records. Explicit owner informed consent for inclusion of animals in this study was not stated. Source of funding: None. Competing interests: None declared.