To use or not to use. That is the question.
With all the misleading information about "Power Instruments" on the internet and in articles today, no wonder horse owners are scared to death to have dental work performed with power instruments. With this article I hope to resolve some of the fears about the use of power instruments and to educate the public on the purpose and use of power instruments in the field of equine dentistry.
I want to start off by saying that there is and always will be risk of accidents and damaged involved with the use of any dental equipment (power/non-power) inside the oral cavity of a horse's mouth. It is who the horse owner chooses to use that can either increase or decrease these risks.
One must understand that is it not the power instruments itself that causes the damage to the oral cavity of a horse but actually, the hands in which the power instruments are in that causes the damage. Power instruments have been specifically designed by equine dentists to be used by trained practitioners for decades to effectively address dental mal-occlusions in particular areas of a horse's mouth. Power instruments allow the trained practitioner to effectively and efficiently perform dental procedures that are often difficult and time consuming to do with hand instruments of which, can also cause undue stress on the TMJ and incisors (front teeth) by having to keep the horse in a dental speculum longer.
However, power instruments in the hands of a untrained, unskilled practitioner can cause extreme damage to soft tissue and dental structures. Power instruments in the hands of a highly trained, skilled practitioner greatly reduces the risk of accidents and damage. The reason why, is because, a trained practitioner has the hand/instrument placement training needed to be proficient in using power instruments. An untrained practitioner does not. This type of training is taught throughout equine dentistry schools and students must pass power instrumentation use and placement tests in order to graduate and be consider proficient in the use of power instruments. Please do not confuse equine dentistry training with veterinary medicine training. Equine dentistry schools teach equine dentistry. Veterinary medicine schools teach veterinary medicine. The curriculum are completely different from one another.
One area of concern is if power equipment can remove to much clinical crown at one time. Sure it can but only if the instrument is left on a tooth to long. Hand instruments can do the same thing due to the fact that the blades are very sharp, from someone being heavy handed and applying to much pressure to the hand instrument and or by someone filing with hand instruments in one area to long. It is actually easier to remove to much clinical crown at one time with hand instruments because hand instruments address more than one tooth at a time whereas, power instruments address one tooth at a time.
Another area of concern is if the use of power instruments can heat up a tooth enough to cause damage. In the field of equine dentistry, this has yet to be proven due to the fact that equine teeth are much different than human, cat or dog teeth and in the 14 years of practicing, I have tried to do it on test horses for research and have been unsuccessful. However, this is were the hand/instrument placement technique and training comes into play. A trained practitioner knows how to place his/her hand and fingers next to the tooth that the power equipment is being used on to detect and monitor heat. The fingers are also used to guide the power instrument to quickly and effective make the necessary corrections so the tooth does not get over heated. An untrained practitioner does not.
Another area of concern I would like to address is whether or not the use of power instruments can cause damage to the pulp/blood supply of the tooth. Sure it can but only if the instrument has been allowed to burr or cut deep into the pulp chambers. There again, this is were the skills and knowledge of a trained practitioner comes into play. A trained practitioner knows that the age of the horse, anatomy of the tooth and the level at which the pulp chambers start are vital to successfully make corrections and reductions without this happening. A trained practitioner also knows what dentition signs to look for during the dental procedure that would indicate that he/she is getting close and needs to stop. An untrained practitioner does not.
Power instruments along with hand instruments are an essential part of a trained equine dental practitioner's practice. The design and use of each instrument is specific in addressing different areas of the mouth and mal-occlusions of the dentition. If you have had a bad experience with a practitioner using power instruments before, talk to you equine dental practitioner about the incident and your concerns.
Accidents occurring from the use of dental instruments (power/non-power)in a horse's mouth can happen to even the best trained and skilled equine dental practitioner. However, using an untrained practitioner greatly increases the risk.
With all the misleading information about "Power Instruments" on the internet and in articles today, no wonder horse owners are scared to death to have dental work performed with power instruments. With this article I hope to resolve some of the fears about the use of power instruments and to educate the public on the purpose and use of power instruments in the field of equine dentistry.
I want to start off by saying that there is and always will be risk of accidents and damaged involved with the use of any dental equipment (power/non-power) inside the oral cavity of a horse's mouth. It is who the horse owner chooses to use that can either increase or decrease these risks.
One must understand that is it not the power instruments itself that causes the damage to the oral cavity of a horse but actually, the hands in which the power instruments are in that causes the damage. Power instruments have been specifically designed by equine dentists to be used by trained practitioners for decades to effectively address dental mal-occlusions in particular areas of a horse's mouth. Power instruments allow the trained practitioner to effectively and efficiently perform dental procedures that are often difficult and time consuming to do with hand instruments of which, can also cause undue stress on the TMJ and incisors (front teeth) by having to keep the horse in a dental speculum longer.
However, power instruments in the hands of a untrained, unskilled practitioner can cause extreme damage to soft tissue and dental structures. Power instruments in the hands of a highly trained, skilled practitioner greatly reduces the risk of accidents and damage. The reason why, is because, a trained practitioner has the hand/instrument placement training needed to be proficient in using power instruments. An untrained practitioner does not. This type of training is taught throughout equine dentistry schools and students must pass power instrumentation use and placement tests in order to graduate and be consider proficient in the use of power instruments. Please do not confuse equine dentistry training with veterinary medicine training. Equine dentistry schools teach equine dentistry. Veterinary medicine schools teach veterinary medicine. The curriculum are completely different from one another.
One area of concern is if power equipment can remove to much clinical crown at one time. Sure it can but only if the instrument is left on a tooth to long. Hand instruments can do the same thing due to the fact that the blades are very sharp, from someone being heavy handed and applying to much pressure to the hand instrument and or by someone filing with hand instruments in one area to long. It is actually easier to remove to much clinical crown at one time with hand instruments because hand instruments address more than one tooth at a time whereas, power instruments address one tooth at a time.
Another area of concern is if the use of power instruments can heat up a tooth enough to cause damage. In the field of equine dentistry, this has yet to be proven due to the fact that equine teeth are much different than human, cat or dog teeth and in the 14 years of practicing, I have tried to do it on test horses for research and have been unsuccessful. However, this is were the hand/instrument placement technique and training comes into play. A trained practitioner knows how to place his/her hand and fingers next to the tooth that the power equipment is being used on to detect and monitor heat. The fingers are also used to guide the power instrument to quickly and effective make the necessary corrections so the tooth does not get over heated. An untrained practitioner does not.
Another area of concern I would like to address is whether or not the use of power instruments can cause damage to the pulp/blood supply of the tooth. Sure it can but only if the instrument has been allowed to burr or cut deep into the pulp chambers. There again, this is were the skills and knowledge of a trained practitioner comes into play. A trained practitioner knows that the age of the horse, anatomy of the tooth and the level at which the pulp chambers start are vital to successfully make corrections and reductions without this happening. A trained practitioner also knows what dentition signs to look for during the dental procedure that would indicate that he/she is getting close and needs to stop. An untrained practitioner does not.
Power instruments along with hand instruments are an essential part of a trained equine dental practitioner's practice. The design and use of each instrument is specific in addressing different areas of the mouth and mal-occlusions of the dentition. If you have had a bad experience with a practitioner using power instruments before, talk to you equine dental practitioner about the incident and your concerns.
Accidents occurring from the use of dental instruments (power/non-power)in a horse's mouth can happen to even the best trained and skilled equine dental practitioner. However, using an untrained practitioner greatly increases the risk.