title: Prevalence of dental disorders in an abattoir population of horses in South Africa by oral examination of intact and bisected heads.
abstract: Dental care is an integral part of equine veterinary practice. The objectives of this cross sectional study were to describe the prevalence of dental disorders in an abattoir population of horses, and to compare oral examination of intact and bisected heads. Heads from 40 horses, 19 males and 21 females, were examined and divided into immature, adult or older horses based on dental age. Older horses had a significantly higher prevalence of infundibular caries (91.7%), diastemata (66.7%) and fractures (58.3%), whereas dental wear disorders affected all age groups. Gasterophilus spp. larvae were detected in 20% of the horses. A short oral examination performed on intact heads was adequate for diagnosing major disorders, but the occurrence of many conditions had only fair to poor agreement with the bisected heads. A more detailed oral examination may be needed for reliable diagnosis of many disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa. Electronic address: dcvemming@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ditte C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Vemming
authors.affiliation: Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Steenkamp
authors.affiliation: Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carstens
authors.affiliation: Medical Research Council, Soutpansberg Road, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
authors.forename: Steve A S
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Olorunju
authors.affiliation: Department of Production Animal Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ruth M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Stroehle
authors.affiliation: Department of Companion Animal Clinical Studies, Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Pretoria, Onderstepoort, 0110, South Africa.
authors.forename: Patrick C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Page
mesh_terms: D000003:Abattoirs; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D014076:Tooth Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Dental disorders; Gasterophilus; Horse; Oral examination; Post-mortem