Cornerstone Equine Dental Services LLC

07/31/2025

07/28/2025

Schedule update🦷🐎

🌊August: a few random time slots available towards the end of the month
🍎 September: about 50% booked, with 1 or 2 Saturdays available
🎃October: fairly open but no Saturday availability

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and looking forward to the cooler weather coming!

****Just a reminder, sedation is REQUIRED to be available (doesn't mean every horse needs sedated, but just so a plan is in place if they do need it) scheduling me with your vet or having dorm oral are both great easy options

07/08/2025

Teach Tip Tuesday ✏️

Canines are NOT wolf teeth‼️

🤯 I have had clients ask me to remove wolf teeth, only to find that their horse did not have wolf teeth, but canine teeth. Although wolf teeth are typically removed before training, we DO NOT remove canine teeth unless necessary.

Located in the interdental space between the incisors and the cheek teeth on both the upper and lower sides of the mouth, canines usually erupt between the ages of 4-6. These teeth are deeply rooted and curved, making removal difficult, even when loose.

Canines are normally seen in male horses, but are sometimes present in mares. These teeth typically serve no purpose, as they do not aid in mastication. Historically, horses used these sharp canine teeth for fighting, herding, and breeding. Now, the only purpose of canine teeth is in stallions when pasture breeding to latch onto mares.

❌These teeth can become large and sharp, often causing lacerations to the tongue and soft tissue of the mouth, which can create problems for horses in work due to their shape and potential for irritation. They can also cause issues with bit placement.

❌Lower canine teeth are also prone to tartar buildup, potentially causing gingivitis, which can lead to periodontitis.

▶️ During a dental procedure, dental practitioners should remove any tartar present, shorten, smooth, and round the canines while being cautious of the color of the secondary dentin. Shortening these teeth can prevent issues when bitting. Smoothing and rounding can prevent trauma to the soft tissue.

❓ Have you noticed tartar buildup on your horse's canine teeth?
❓ Have you noticed these teeth being sharp when bridling your horse
If so, your horse is likely overdue for a dental!

Call, text, or direct message me to book an appointment!
📞: 304-893-8200

06/30/2025

July is full🏖😎
Still some availability for August and scheduling for September now!

06/23/2025

Can dental care put a pregnant mare at risk?

Traditionally, equine dental practitioners try to avoid practicing equilibration on pregnant mares. However, new research shows otherwise. This study set out to investigate whether dental floats are associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes like abortion, stillbirth, or placentitis in Thoroughbred broodmares.

Researchers analyzed farm and veterinary records from 2013 to 2021 to explore any link between the timing of dental floats and pregnancy complications. They grouped floats based on whether they occurred during mares' open periods or in specific trimesters of pregnancy. Across nearly a decade of data, the timing of the float did not have a negative influence. Instead, the mare's age and farm location had more impact. The paper concluded that floating a mare during any stage of pregnancy appears safe and shouldn’t be a cause for concern.

Paper: A retrospective study of dental floating on pregnancy outcomes in Thoroughbred broodmares. https://doi.org/10.1111/eve.14130

06/12/2025

Very nicely said!

05/30/2025

June is full!!🌞 July is limited, and have begun scheduling for August!

Just a reminder, sedation is REQUIRED to be available (doesn't mean every horse needs sedated, but just so a plan is in place if they do need it) scheduling me with your vet or having dorm oral are both great easy options

05/30/2025

A horse’s teeth will erupt about 1/8” per year. Since the upper jaw is wider than the lower, points develop on the cheek side of the upper teeth and the tongue side of the lowers

I often get asked to check if a horse “needs it” when the owner knows they haven’t been done in well over a year

Yes, yes they do

05/13/2025

An interesting, and stinky, case

04/15/2025

Schedule update!!! 😎
The rest of April is completely full as well as May, unless I can get you on an existing trip in your area.
Now scheduling for June! 🌞

04/12/2025

Check out these massive blind wolf teeth 😳 Blind wolf teeth are not visible to the eye as they are under the gums but can be felt with a good palpation of the upper and lower bars. They present just as much of a problem, if not more than regular visible wolf teeth. The wolf tooth to the left is a fairly normal sized one that I broke the root tip off of (extracted in one piece) and was able to carefully pull out the pulp tissue which is circled in blue. Before you start saddle breaking babies, always make sure those pesky wolf teeth are out of the way to avoid bad behavior and pain!👍🦷

03/29/2025

Following on from our last post, here’s a handy guide to average permanent eruption dates for you to save, helping you to keep track of your young horse’s dental changes!