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| By Tom Allen, DVM September 2004 |
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The Good, Bad,
and Ugly Changes |
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horsedentist.com |
We all want our horses to have comfort, enhanced
performance, more efficiency nutritionally, and even to have a good chance of
living longer. So we are all glad
to see the changes that are occurring in the field of equine dentistry, a
long-neglected part of horse health care that is now, fortunately, coming back into prominence.
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We veterinarians have been out of the loop
for several decades regarding equine dental care, but are now beginning to
realize its importance, and are availing ourselves of some excellent
opportunities to learn more about providing thorough equine dental care.
As we become more aware of the importance of it to all horses,
beginning at a few months of age and continuing lifelong, we are seeing
dramatic changes in the degree of recommendations for dental care.
The largest organization of veterinarians
dedicated to the healthcare of horses, the American Association of Equine
Practitioners, has been offering some excellent programs for continuing
education in the field of equine dentistry these last few years.
Now we veterinarians have the opportunity to upgrade our knowledge of
and even our practical application of dentistry as it applies to the horse.
The lack of adequate dental care being
advocated by those of us who have been involved in equine veterinary medical
practice is being remedied as we see the positive effects from an increasing
number of non-veterinary equine dental practitioners (operating “below the
radar” in most states) who have
been providing a level of care that has not been taught in the formal
institutes of veterinary education for the last century. |
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© Copyright 2005 Dr. Tom Allen, horsedentist.com - All Rights Reserved
