# farrier-vet-equine dentist...who should float teeth?



## barrelracer892 (Apr 3, 2010)

Does the farrier/"equine dentist" have any proof his training? I would ask... I know it's kind of hard to ask without offending him, but I know it would ease my mind to know that he is telling the truth.

There was a farrier at the stables I work at that told my boss he was an equine dentist. Had the set up and everything for it. He did know how to float teeth, but it's illegal for him to do it. My vet knows the guy and said that it's illegal for him to do it because he doesn't have the right qualifications. 

While this farrier that I mentioned knows how to do it and probably does a great job, I would get the vet to instead. Even if it may cost more. He will most likely have more knowledge on the subject than the "equine dentist." Not to mention he's legal! Haha. Plus, you know that your vet does a good job, so I would keep having him float your horses teeth.


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## lilruffian (Jun 28, 2010)

Id get the vet to do it, especially if your poor guy had troubles eating afterwards  (i miss my mini lol) What did he use to keep the mouth open. Your guy was probably soar because he didn't use a proper grinder.
I got my arab's teeth floated back in Feburary by the vet (she even let me help!... sort of. Iheld the squirt bottle lol & squirted water so that her teeth wouldn't overheat under the grinder). 
Even if vets dont take that long to learn how to do teeth (not sure about that), they do do it often enough to get the right practice & you probably wont have a new vet/ assistant doing it.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

http://www.horseforum.com/horse-health/advice-dentist-vet-teeth-floating-61399/ 

That's a really long discussion on dentist vs vet. I personally go with vet with specialization in teeth. He charges same (if not less) as dentist + he can give IV sedation (dentists here are NOT authorized to give).


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Our equine vet practice has doctors who specifically went to dental courses to stay up on the latest in the equine dentistry field.


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## Danjones (Mar 17, 2010)

personally i would allways use a reputable equine dentist like jeffery kelly for example


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## Deerly (Apr 18, 2010)

My vet floated my horse's teeth and I have no complaints  I probably wouldn't trust a farrier to do it but the vet was so much more convenient than trying to find a dentist!


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

mls said:


> Our equine vet practice has doctors who specifically went to dental courses to stay up on the latest in the equine dentistry field.


!! Exactly. I always wonder why people think vets only take several hours on teeth and that's it. Lots of vets specialize in something specific. My vet - in teeth, other vet I know - breeding and all related stuff, etc.


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## dirtymartini (Aug 9, 2010)

kitten val-Thanks for the link, lots of info on there, but of course now I see (from that thread AND this thread) there is no one clear answer.

I posted this on the thread on the mini horse board...

"I will give you an example, the first one I can think of. I occasionally get botox between my eyebrows. I have friends that will ONLY go to a plastic surgeon for this. They are paying a premium because his time and office is worth a lot of money. However, the surgeon usually only does it (meaning is available for botox patients)one day a week. The spa that I go to, the woman does it every day, all day long. I feel more comfortable going to her than to a PS, and I pay less, too."

Anyway, thanks for all the input. I will keep checking in on the thread!


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

There is no reason why people can not practice multiple disciplines. If they have gone to an accredited school and have references, what is the difference that they also know how to shoe a horse? 

My thoughts are that just because a person has a veterinary degree, does not qualify him (her) to float teeth. They have to study the methods the same way a farrier does. 

All that being said, and as to why I would prefer a vet over a farrier is for a different reason. If something goes wrong, I want their other skills to come into play. The way things seem to work with me is that maybe nothing happened in the last 100 horses that the farrier floated - until they got to mine.


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## kitten_Val (Apr 25, 2007)

dirtymartini said:


> "I will give you an example, the first one I can think of. I occasionally get botox between my eyebrows. I have friends that will ONLY go to a plastic surgeon for this. They are paying a premium because his time and office is worth a lot of money. However, the surgeon usually only does it (meaning is available for botox patients)one day a week. The spa that I go to, the woman does it every day, all day long. I feel more comfortable going to her than to a PS, and I pay less, too."


When I did teeth on my girls for the 1st time I talked to my vet and ask him that question (and as I said vet charges same amount as dentist, so no difference money-wise here). He said it's easy enough that something may go wrong - say person with little experience/knowledge may rasp off too much. 

iride brought up a very good point. My paint on her first floating broke the vet's tool (whatever that thing is to keep their mouth open wide), even though she was IV sedated. Could she hurt herself when she went crazy? Easily. Will the dentist be able to deal with her injury something would happen? No. But the vet would.


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## Carleen (Jun 19, 2009)

Here in BC, it is illegal for anyone to provide equine dentistry services if they are not a registered DVM.

Just some food for thought!!


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## haleylvsshammy (Jun 29, 2010)

Personally, we use an equine dentist. In our area, they are more knowledgeable about teeth than a vet. Plus, they cost less. Our experience with vets floating teeth is that they don't do a good job (like only doing half of the mouth). I'm pretty sure that our dentist has a little bit of background in the vet field, but they specialize in dentistry and they do a GREAT job! They even let me keep my horses canine tooth (well, the part that he chopped off).


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## Solon (May 11, 2008)

I have a vet that is also trained as an equine dentist. Best combination. I can't imagine a farrier doing it.


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## HotCowgirl (Aug 19, 2010)

I'v went to an Equine Dentist for floating and he found hidden wolf teeth that my vet had never found before..After that she was way better when I rode her. I'd say that if he had the right qualifications I'd use the dentist.


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

Carleen said:


> Here in BC, it is illegal for anyone to provide equine dentistry services if they are not a registered DVM.


Yep. Minnesota has a law that the dentists have to be licensed equine vets to perform dental work. There is ONE individual that is grandfathered in. But he is not allowed to administer sedation.

My husbands mare is an idiot when it comes to dental work (she is blonde). She HAS to be tranqed to even get a peek in her mouth.

We are very very fortunate that our vet practice has experts in all fields. (10 doctors)


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## G and K's Mom (Jan 11, 2008)

iridehorses said:


> My thoughts are that just because a person has a veterinary degree, does not qualify him (her) to float teeth. *They have to study the methods the same way a farrier does. *


The thing is any non DVM can hang out a shingle saying he's qualified, but unless you actually see his credentials it's all hear-say. At least with a vet I know they've had the education.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

G and K's Mom said:


> At least with a vet I know they've had the education.


... as a general vet but dental work is a specialty and needs an additional course of study or he may be no better at it then farrier. Would you go to a regular dr to have your teeth checked?


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## G and K's Mom (Jan 11, 2008)

My point Iride, which I guess I didn't articulate well, is that with a DVM dental work is part of their curriculum. They must take and pass that portion of their education or they don't graduate. Anyone other than a DVM can "say" they are equine dentist, but how do you really know unless you ask for their college credentials.

As someone else from British Columbia posted, it's illegal for anyone other than a DVM to do dental work on horses here. There's a reason for that........horse's mouths were being damaged by so called Equine Dentists.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Thanks for the info, G&K, I'm surprised to know that dental care is part of the licensing for a DVM.


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## Production Acres (Aug 26, 2009)

People really do put a DR. in front of their name and everyone bows down in front of them as if they are the final authority on the subject. Did your vet in question get a "A" in equine denistry or did he make a "D" in that class in school. Does he/she do 500 horses per year or 2? 
When my daughter suddenly had to have her appendix removed, I very bruskly asked the DR whom I had never met before "Just how many of these operations have you performed?" We live in a rural area and were at a small hospital. He replied - "I wish more people would ask that question. I have done over 2,000 apendix removals at the bigger hospital I worked at before I moved here to retire." 
Aptitude and experience make a professional, not a series of initials in front of their name. In the cattle industry right now, there is a growing industry of trained professionals (AI work, embryo work, feet trimming, routine vaccinations, dehorning, castrating) that have done many times more actual procedures that the general vet - even though they don't have the all encompasing education the vet has. But, was your local vet asleep the day they studied teeth in college? ;.)


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## clhorses (Aug 28, 2010)

1. Someone calling themselves an equine dentist has no regulating board or formal association that over sees and confirms they have received proper (or any) education in equine dentistry. Sure there are equine dentistry schools and organizations out there, but there is no unifying organization that oversees these programs to ensure everyone that graduates has received an acceptable education and has obtained an acceptable level of competency in what was taught. If the person is utilizing dangerous techniques and traumatizes your horse you have no State Licensing Board to file a complaint with, no license to pull.

2. Any lay equine dentist giving or supplying sedation for you to give your horse is practicing veterinary medicine with out a license which not only is illegal but dangerous. These drugs can be deadly if given incorrectly.

3. Lay equine dentist are not required to carry and often can not obtain insurance. Sure you might be able to take them to small claims, but that's only if you can track the person down since often times they are traveling through states picking up work where ever possible. Veterinarians are required to carry malpractice insurance. Should an unfortunate event happen to your horse, you have a chance to be compensated to fix what was done wrong. If you use a lay dentist under direct supervision of a veterinarian on site then the liability (and coverage) will be available through the veterinarian. 

4. It is a true that in the past veterinary schools offered limited education during school. However most veterinarians that now offer dental services have a true interest in dentistry and should have sought continuing education since school (mentor-ship, conferences, courses). In addition there have been many advances in the curriculum of many veterinary schools so that recent graduates have had classes and ample hands on experience to handle a majority of routine floats. There are just as many bad lay equine dentist as bad equine vets. Don't fall for the marketing ploy commonly used by solo-practicing lay equine dentists.

5. You need to get references and avoid hype. Many horse owners (people in general) have moved towards a "natural" method to treatment and healing. Many may like the idea of a "natural" float or someone offering a less traumatic-sedation free float. The fact is (again fact, not my opinion) a horse needs to be fully sedated with a mouth speculum in space with adequate head stand, bright head lamp, and appropriate instruments to inspect the mouth prior to floating. A sedation free float may knock off a few sharp points, but will provide zero evaluation on the health of your horse and its teeth. Horses are amazingly stoic animals and can have fractured or infected teeth for months to years with out showing a change in appetite or weight. If you don't look you never find these problems and the horse suffers in silence or they fester in their mouths until the horse becomes physically ill. Another problem with sedation free floats is they often lead to excessive tooth removal, inadequate tooth reduction, or soft tissue damage because the individual is going off feel verses looking at what they are doing to your horse. The horse world is full of gimmicks playing on peoples lack of experience and knowledge so try to use common sense and don't let people play on your emotions. Would you want your dentist working in your mouth blindfolded going off feel?

For me its not about the money or pride in my degree, for me its all about the animal who can't tell us where it hurts and often don't tell us when it hurts.
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