title: Oral examination and charting: setting the basis for evidence-based medicine in the oral examination of equids.
abstract: The oral examination is performed in equids to assess and monitor oral health status, provide diagnoses, and determine efficacy of treatments. While there is currently insufficient scientific material of adequate quality to enable evidence-based medicine in equine dentistry, this by no means negates the clinician's responsibility to provide oral health care in a scientific and ethical manner. To do so requires that the clinician be knowledgable and skilled in dentistry and general medicine, that each case upholds the principles of scientific method, and that data is gathered and appraised in an objective, precise, consistent, uniform, and reliable manner.
authors.affiliation: Dentistry & Oral Surgery Service, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Helsinki, PO Box 57, Koetilantie 4, FI-00014, Finland. menziesrobert@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Menzies
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003813:Dentistry / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*; D003945:Diagnosis, Oral / Q000379:methods*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006736:Horses / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D009909:Oral Health; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000662:veterinary; D009057:Stomatognathic Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Dental charting; Dentistry; Equine; Evidence-based medicine; Horse; Oral examination; Scientific method; Veterinary