Oral disorders in Chilean rodeo horses submitted for dental evaluation between 2010 and 2013

• Main Authors: Sebastián Guerra, Manuel Pineda, Luis De Negri, Aiko Adell, Felipe Correa, Shannon Lee, Jorge Lohse
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad Católica de Temuco 2016-09-01
• Series: Sustainability, Agri, Food and Environmental Research
• Subjects: dentistry; Chilean horses; malocclusions; dental diseases
• Online Access: http://safer.uct.cl/index.php/safer/article/view/1048/991

Dental disorders are common in horses. The objetive of the study was determined the frequency of dental problems in Chilean Rodeo Horses and described the most common dental treatments used in Chile. Oral examinations were performed on 456 Chilean rodeo horses and the disorders were observed as follows: Oral soft tissues, 259 horses (56%) presented lacerations and/or ulcers. Regarding the first premolar, it was present in 32% of the horses, all maxillary positioned. In canines, 245 (54%) were present and overlong tooth. Disorders found in incisors show supererupted (Tooth overlong) in 147 (32%); ventral curvature in 116 (25%), nevertheless 102 (22%) horses showed no abnormalities. About the diseases found in cheek teeth (premolars and molars), the more prevalent ones was enamel points in 426 (93%), rostral or caudal hooks in 354 (78%), and ramps in 231 (51%). Confidence intervals between all dental diseases found in the study showed no statistical significance when was analyzed for age or gender. When age groups were made, statistical significance appear X² Pearson (p=0,01), were mostly malocclusion type I was the more common in young, mature and geriatric horses. Other disorders such as problems at the time of eruption, development and periodontal disease are statiscally similar X² (p=0,07). About the treatments it is important to mention that in 453 (99%) horses received odontoplasty and 147 (32%) first premolar extraction. This study shows that Chilean rodeo horses have dental disorders similar to other horse breeds, except by small increase in soft tissue damage and incisors problems.