Discomfort days after teeth floating

[the_sandiest_shoes]

My five year old mare had her teeth done last Thursday. As of yesterday, she still wasn’t comfortable eating her hay (I noticed Friday and Saturday there was lots of hay left in her stall, which is really unlike her - she usually eats it all between feed times). I noticed she also refused one of her horse treats (a crunchier one), but was ok with soft apple slices. I also saw her raise her head and angle it while chewing hay, like she was ouchy or uncomfortable.

I have her on hay pellets for a few days, in addition to hay, so she doesn’t go hungry while she heals (I was told these are softer to chew and she’s been eating them all).

Is this normal? If so, how long should it take her mouth to feel ok? I don’t think I’ve seen this before. I asked the trainer to give her Bute on Friday when I noticed the hay in the stall.

The dentist told the trainer it looked like the horse hadn’t been done in a very long time. Still, I’m worried about her…

[mmeqcenter]

I’ve never experienced a horse in such discomfort after a dental that they had trouble eating. Did the dentist mention if there were significant blisters/ulcers in the mouth?

[the_sandiest_shoes]

@mmeqcenter

I’ve never experienced a horse in such discomfort after a dental that they had trouble eating. Did the dentist mention if there were significant blisters/ulcers in the mouth?

No, the paper he gave me said nothing about blisters or ulcers and he didn’t say anything to the trainer who was there during the float about them either, to my knowledge. Thank you for confirming it doesn’t seem normal. I’m not super inclined to use this person again…

[mmeqcenter]

I’d definitely call a vet out, and yeah, likely not use that dentist again…
Very sorry, hope your girl heals up quickly

[Highflyer]

Definitely get a vet out, and/or have the dentist back out (depending on whether or not you trust them.)

[BootsAndCoffee]

It’s possible that her jaw is sore from being held open by the speculum, especially if the dental itself took a bit. Is she tender around and under her jaw?

It might be worth having a chiro out to check her TMJ and/ or give her a few days worth of bute.

[4horses]

My old horse went off her hay. They found a fractured tooth. Getting it pulled was extremely difficult as it was smoother than a sea shell- took about 3 hours to get it out. She didn’t eat for a week. I think she has arthritis in her jaw because just a routine float puts her off her feed for a couple days.

At her age (26), i won’t float her again unless we have a problem. It’s not worth the discomfort for her afterwards. Getting her properly floated and that tooth removed restored her ability to eat hay, so as long as she’s eating and maintaining weight I’m not putting her through that.

The dentist can catch the soft tissue in the mouth- causing cuts and bleeding. If you don’t see improvement in a week, i would want a second opinion. It isn’t normal to be that painful after a float - my younger horses always go right back to eating afterwards.

[Aleuronx]

Yeah, I’d say not normal. Is this equine dentist also a vet? Is this someone that your trainer uses regularly or someone new?

I’m lucky in my area that we have an equine veterinarian that has had extensive equine dentistry training. Even with the speculum and considering they at times get nicks/small rubs from floating it should not put them off feed or hay. This is absolutely something he would want to know about after working on a horse.

I’d either call back the dentist you used if you/trainer trust their judgement and explain what’s going on or if your vet is knowledgeable about teeth then a phone call to them. Unfortunately vet school is very similar to medical school in that dentistry is a brief 1 hour overview. You need someone knowledgeable, whoever that is, to get a check on what’s going on.

Fingers crossed she’s back to 100% soon!

[the_sandiest_shoes]

Yeah, my trainer trusts this dentist guy. He is also a vet. It’s Tuesday now and she’s still eating funny, though I think she’s eating more. I watched her today do the thing where she took a few mouthfuls of hay pellets, lift her head sideways and chew awkwardly, open-mouthed with her head raised like that for a while before going for more food.

She had a chiro appointment and no jaw pain or anything in her head was found. I’ve ridden her lightly and she’s fine under saddle/ I feel nothing in the contact. It’s just the hay eating.

I’m going to give the dentist a call and see if he can come back out, or ask our vet to take a look. I feel so bad for the poor girl.

[joiedevie99]

My limit on funny chewing is 24 hours. Anything past that, I call the vet.

[TMares]

My vet does our horses teeth with a power float. I had two done this past weekend. Rode them that same afternoon with zero issues. You shouldn’t have issues after a floating, unless there was a tooth extraction or something notable. Something is definitely amiss

[Texarkana]

I once had a horse with fairly severe TMJ irritation after a float by a vet. He was off his hay for days. Our next step was going to be to inject his TMJ joint, but it did resolve on its own with a few days and NSAIDS.

[WildLittleWren]

You should not be having pain like this after 24 hours. I once had a large pony mare done (with power tools). A couple hours after the sedation wore off she started drooling. Like, drooling like an animal that had rabies. Excessive amounts of drool. Called the vet out (I was dumb, and used an equine dentist that time, never again, I will never use anyone but my vet for a dental ever again). Turns out she had 3rd degree burns in her mouth from the power tool malfunctioning and overheating…which the dentist should have been able to tell was happening as the tool had to get exceptionally hot. Poor mare was in bad pain for a week, but we nursed her back to health.

I would have the vet out to re examine her.

[Toothgrinder]

I could think of a few causes of your five-year-old problems after floating. My first guess would be a too aggressive float of a very young mouth. A five-year-old molars are all newly erupted. Eight of the molars have come in within the last 12 months. All horses teeth are vascular and young horses teeth are very vascular. When they shed the cap from a newly erupted molar there is only a smear of dentin protecting the pulp chamber from contamination. In the coming months and years, layers of dentin will be laid on the interior of the tooth giving greater protection to the vascular region.
I would guess that your horse received a too aggressive float and one or multiple teeth we’re harmed and had a inflamitory response or tooth ache.
A proper float reduces the enamel points and reduces any high teeth but when filing molar tables small adjustments are the key. It sounds as though your horse is on the mend and hopefully there will be no lasting effects to what should be a routine procedure.

[the_sandiest_shoes]

Yeah, I’m thinking it was definitely too aggressive of a float. This doesn’t seem normal at all. Followed up with the dentist and he recommended bute, which has helped and now she’s eating normally at least, so I’m hoping she’s on the mend.

[TBKite]

For that much pain I am concerned that pulp chambers were opened. My exclusively- dentistry equine vet has some horrifying pictures of a horse with multiple opened pulps that was drastically over- floated by a layperson dentist. I would recommend your horse’s mouth be re examined to check for open pulps and dental fractures.

[the_sandiest_shoes]

&^)(&( That’s really upsetting to think about. Ugh. The person I used (an expensive dentistry equine vet as well) came highly recommended and is the go-to for dentistry in our region, though now I obviously have my doubts. I’ll see if I can convince my vet to take a look at her mouth. Ugh.

I should add, she’s been absolutely fine to ride and the chiro found zero pain in her head and jaw, as mentioned. So I’m hoping it’s nothing serious/permanent. She’s a sensitive mare and would not be stoic if her mouth hurt while riding - she’d let me know.

[Toothgrinder]

I can’t imagine your mare was brutalized the way a previous poster described since she’s already doing better. In my opinion power tools simply aren’t well-suited for working on horses teeth. There’s no finesse, no craftsmanship, and it’s just not necessary.Of course there’s people who do excellent work with power tools. There are also people who do excellent work with hand tools. Power just enables bad things to happen much faster.

[nccatnip]

I experienced this years ago with a previous mare. Funny chewing post dental resulted in severe colic and upon examination, one tooth was completely missed floating leaving it much longer than the rest. Lesson learned.

[sascha]

Was her head strung up for more than a few minutes? I know a horse that had a 40min+ power float 2 years ago. It took several weeks for that horse to recover. It was done by a vet

It also cemented my preference for a hand float, light sedation, no head stringing up nonsense. I ride the evening after a morning float with zero issues and no change in eating habits or chewing.

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