Alan Ritchie Equine Veterinary Dentistry

***Warning - some more graphic content***
Nice day of extractions on Friday👍 Some wolf teeth, a lower cheek tooth with a periapical infection due to diastema and an incisor tooth which is pictured. I must remember to take these pictures after I’ve clean up the mouth instead of before🙈
... As you can see there is a large hole in the centre of the tooth that should not be present. In this case that had led to food and acid releasing bacteria packing in causing further decay and eventually leading to infection of the root of the tooth. Now extracted it should stop any spread of infection to the adjacent teeth and the alveolus will granulate and heal over in the next couple of weeks👍
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Some more lovely photos for you guys😂😂😂 This one comes from an 18yo mare who has struggled with diastema for a while with the eventual result being the trapped food had packed down below the gum line causing inflammation in the periodontal ligament and secondary infection of the tooth root. The tooth had displaced out of line with the other teeth towards the cheek due to the poor periodontal ligament attachment and was beyond repair, so extraction was the only option in this case. Diastema can be some of the most frustrating but also some of the most rewarding cases we see. There are multiple ways to combat them (as detailed on the website) but in some cases, if not treated aggressively this will evidently be the result. #identifyearlytreatearly

We don’t quite use magic Goggles just yet - we may in the future but the message is essentially the same:
(1) Insist on an informed, detailed oral exam (2) Pick up abnormalities/masses early (3) Treat early... = A better prognosis & a better outcome
Magic goggles might be quite cool thou 😎
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Slightly odd case of today - a dysplastic (abnormally developed) incisor tooth!! It nearly appears to have gone through a molarisation type process but I imagine it is more likely to have been an abnormal development or trauma/damage to the tooth bud (that forms the tooth) at an early stage!!! It currently isn’t causing a problem so we will wait and monitor but in the future it may lead to an altered wear pattern with the opposing tooth or cause a diastema (gap) between the tooth next to it & may be better being extracted!!!

Down in Dorset at the EDC for a few days to do some work with Chris Pearce, Nicole DuToit and Nicky Brooks 🐴 #alwayslearningalwaysimproving

Hi guys - back from the Shetlands!!! No killer whales unfortunately but shed loads of miniature shetlands🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴🐴
Interesting case from last week - found by a local EDT in a 22 year old pony that was showing no signs of oral pain at all despite the very advanced changes going on in his mouth. He had very advanced caries (holes in the tooth) involving both the infundibulum and the pulp horns with a discharging tract indicating that there was infection of the root. Due to the car...ies weakening the tooth these teeth can be very prone to fracturing during oral extraction. However, after elevating the gingiva we were able to get the extraction forceps above the level of the caries and remove it with out fracturing👍 What did come as a little surprise was that there was a historic fracture to part of the root of the tooth that had been there for a significant amount of time. Through movement of the tooth it had rounded of the rest of the root attached to the tooth & also that fragment. Thankfully my newly arrived set of dental picks & elevators made the fragment extraction much easier😁 You can still see part of the discharging tract attached to the fragment!!!
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Hi everyone I’m going to be a bit of the grid up in the Shetlands for this coming week but I should have WIFI in the evenings so if you need to contact me or book an appointment the best way is going to be to message me on here & I’ll get back to you ASAP - thank you👍 see you when I get back😁🐴

No teeth for the next 2 days as I’m off to Newmarket - to instead talk about teeth for 2 days🤣🤣🤣 Good to catch up with lots of like minded people at EVDA (Equine Veterinary Dental Association) #obsessed

Nice winning start for sponsored stallion Chartsturmer WE displaying his new saddle cloth😁👍

New branded clothing arrived today😁 LIKE my page & SHARE this post for the chance to win a branded saddle cloth like the one below but in your choice of dressage, jumping or GP👍 I’ll do a randomised draw in a few weeks time - good luck🍀

***WARNING SOME GRAPHIC PICS***
Referral and extraction day on Thursday😁
Case 1. An elderly gentleman with EOTRH and secondary infected tooth root of one of his upper incisors. As you can see from the before pictures there was considerable gum recession and periodontal inflammation. EOTRH is a relatively newly recognised condition of usually older horses (>15yo) and normally affects the incisors teeth but occasionally the canines and in rare cases the first premolars. It’s an... inflammatory condition that leads to resorption of the tooth roots and often hypercementosis (an excessive production of cementum on the surface of the tooth). In this case he was sedated and nerve blocked so he could not feel the extraction process. His head was placed on a headstand and an elevator used to work away around the tooth loosening the periodontal ligament before some gentle manipulation to extract the tooth. Unfortunately due to the amount of inflammation present a bit of blood is unavoidable but this stops soon after the process is finished and he should be a lot happier without the pain that was being caused by this particular tooth😁
Case2. Another elderly gentleman- Bramble the miniature Shetland. He was having a few problems chewing due to some aged related issues with his teeth. He has some senile diastema - age related gaps between his teeth that had allowed food material to get stuck between them. As this food material breaks down it causes the gum to become inflamed and allows bacteria to extend down the side of the tooth. This results in inflammation and infection of the tooth root and it’s periodontal attachment. We could tell this had occurred due to the fact the teeth had started to become loose on clinical exam and the resultant movement of these teeth while chewing was causing discomfort. By extracting these 3 teeth we have the bonus that, as well as the painful teeth being removed, the diastema either side of these teeth will no longer be present😁
#happyteeth #extractionday #referralsbysam
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Our Story
ALAN RITCHIE EQUINE VETERINARY DENTISTRY
After spending the last 10 years of my career working in Cheshire and Leicestershire in both first opinion and referral practice I have decided to follow my passion and open my own dedicated Equine Veterinary Dentistry practice. ... I aim to offer routine and advanced dentistry services on a first opinion basis for clients and as a referral service for both Veterinary Surgeons and Equine Dental Technicians. I intend to offer a modern, mobile, and competitive approach to equine dentistry with treatments carried out at your premises for your convenience.
Services -
-Routine Dental care - rasping and balancing with the latest Professional Equine Dentistry power tools. -Advanced Dental care - Category 2 + 3 Procedures with the ability to sedate and nerve block as required. -Oral extractions of wolf teeth, cheek teeth, canines and incisors. -Treatment periodontal disease /diastema - flushing, bridging or widening on an individual case basis. -Video oroscopic examinations for advanced imaging of difficult to visualise problems. -Advanced oral extractions via the Minimally Invasive Transbuccal Extraction Technique for the more complicated cases - Coming soon! -Cavity restorations of infundibular caries and endodontic treatments - Coming soon!
I am currently working towards my Certificate in Advanced Veterinary Practice (Equine Dentistry) to become a recognised specialist in Equine Veterinary Dentistry. I am a member of the RCVS (Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons), BEVA (British Equine Veterinary Association) and EVDA (Equine Veterinary Dental Association). All work is carried out with full Professional Indemnity Cover provided by the VDS (Veterinary Defence Society).
Prices -
-Routine Rasping and balancing - £60 including a small amount of sedation (£55 if 5 or more horses) -Advanced Dental care - Case and time dependant -Wolf tooth extractions - £20- £40 dependant on number, location and time (includes sedation and local anaesthetic) -Oral extractions - Case and time dependant -Periodontal and diastema treatments - case and treatment dependant
If you have any questions then please give me a ring on 07399053805 or send me a message to discuss. Neela (my trusty and ever present Spaniel) and I hope to see you around very soon!!!
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Must have been my post about wolf teeth the other day - today I found a very rare lower wolf tooth that was displaced towards and underneath the tongue meaning it had been missed for many years🙉 this is only the second case of lower wolf teeth I have seen in 10 years 😯 it had a very large root and had an osseous attachment to the underlying bone but he’s got to be a lot happier without this sticking into his tongue😛

Picture of one of my patients from last week having a blind (unerupted) wolf tooth removed😁
Wolf teeth are quite variable in size, shape and position but usually sit just in front of the first cheek tooth (the larger teeth at the back of the mouth). They are actually residual 1st premolar teeth that have been lost during the horses evolution process!!! Although about 40-80% of domestic horses will have at least one upper wolf tooth present!!!
They usually erupt at about 6-18 ...months years of age and there is a lot of debate as to how much of a problem they cause to the horse!!! I believe much of this debate is because there is so much individual variety in the types of wolf teeth, their positioning, their size and different tolerance levels between horses.
Many wolf teeth are very small and if located away from bit contact they are unlikely to cause a problem but if they are larger or positioned further forward or are at a point of bit contact then it seems reasonable that they could easily cause discomfort or irritability to the horse. I will often put the horses bit in the mouth before extraction to observe the amount of contact there will be during riding.
The procedure is usually a fairly straight forward one - the horse is sedated and its head placed on a headstand to allow me to have both hands free as in the picture. A small amount of local anaesthetic is then infiltrated around the tooth and the nerve that supplies it so the horse doesn’t feel anything during the extraction. I then use small sharp elevators to work around the edges of the tooth to loosen it from its periodontal attachments allowing it and it’s root to be extracted easily. Sometimes as in this case wolf teeth are unerupted or still underneath the skin - in these cases the procedure is largely the same although a small incision is made in the gum just above the tooth to allow access to it. The gum will then heal very quickly normally within 5-10 days depending on the size of the wolf tooth extracted😁
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First few pictures sent in of sets of teeth and diastema flushes done yesterday - loving how quiet the new kit is😁

Thanks so much Alan! Fab service, pony stayed calm,very thorough and knowledgeable. Will definitely recommend!!

Thank you so much for removing Joe's tooth today, Fantastic & first class service!!!!

I’ve used Alan for a number of years now for my horses’ dentistry needs, great rapport with the horses I would always recommend.

Great service from Alan today doing my horses teeth.

First appointment with Alan for my two horses. I was very impressed with his calm manner with the horses and the drama free experience. Thoroughly recommended.

Brilliant service.Alan takes great care and pride in his work.Thanks to him a very old pony is once again eating and maintaining weight.

Absolutely delighted with Alan’s thorough but gentle service. I will be using Alan for all my future equine dental needs