title: Prevalence of oro-dental pathology in a working horse population in Egypt and its relation to equine health.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Oro-dental disease can have a significant impact on equine welfare.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of oro-dental disease and to identify risk factors for oro-dental disorders and poor body condition scores (BCS) in a working horse population in Egypt.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Oro-dental examination was performed on 450 working horses in 2 Egyptian provinces. Horse and management historical data were collected and horses were assigned to no/mild, moderate and severe dental disease categories based on findings on examination. Multivariable logistic regression and generalised additive models were used to identify risk factors for oral mucosal injuries and very poor/poor BCS, and to explore the relationship between age and different oro-dental disorders.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Oro-dental disease was common, with 45.3% and 8.4% of horses considered to have moderate and severe oro-dental disease, respectively. None of these horses had previously undergone any form of proper dental examination and treatment by trained personnel. Oral mucosal injuries (64.2%) and sharp enamel points (79.8%) were most common. Oral mucosal injuries were significantly associated with increasing age (odds ratio (OR) 1.1, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01-1.1, P = 0.03), focal dental overgrowths (OR 2.4, 95% CI 1.4-4.0, P = 0.002) and sharp enamel points (OR 6.3, 95% CI 3.5-11.0, P<0.001). Very poor and poor BCS were significantly associated with severe dental disease (OR 2.6, 95% CI 1.2-5.8, P = 0.02), horses aged 16-30 years (OR 3.5, 95% CI 1.7-7.0, P = 0.001), height (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.9-0.97, P = 0.001) and packed cell volume (OR 0.9, 95% CI 0.85-0.95, P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  There is a need for education of working horse-owners in Egypt about the importance of oro-dental disease and for greater availability of veterinarians with suitable training and equipment to perform dental prophylaxis and treatment. Even simple dental prophylaxis could have a significant impact on the health and welfare of this population of working horses.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston, Cheshire, UK.|Department of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zakazik, Egypt.
authors.forename: S E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Salem
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston, Cheshire, UK.
authors.forename: N B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Townsend
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zakazik, Egypt.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Refaai
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zakazik, Egypt.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gomaa
authors.affiliation: Institute of Infection and Global Health and School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Liverpool, Neston, Cheshire, UK.
authors.forename: D C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Archer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D006736:Horses; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012307:Risk Factors; D009057:Stomatognathic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*
keywords: Egypt; dental disease; horse; horse welfare; working equids