Oral health: comfort and ponderal gain in horses after dental correction

Dental alterations may cause soft tissue lesions that impair mastication and animal performance. This work aimed at evaluating the effects of dental correction on weight gain in horses with no previous history of dental treatment and its effects on weight gain post treatment, masticatory comfort and reduction of intraoral injuries. For such, a total of 40 animals were evaluated, out of which 27 were police horses (group 1) and 13 were sport horses (group 2). Animals from group 1 presented enamel points, which caused a high prevalence of lesions on the cheek, adjacent to the teeth 06, 09, 10 and 11, with an average area of 2.04 cm 2 . These lesions were completely healed after 30 days of the dental procedure. These animals presented a mean weight gain of 6.17±7.46 Kg and 15.83±11.65 Kg at day 30 and 80 after dental intervention, respectively. The animals from group 2 presented enamel points that caused vestibular lesions, which healed spontaneously. These animals presented a statistically significant mean weight gain of 31±9.10 Kg (P<0.05) at day 30, after treatment. It was concluded that the dental treatment received by the animals promoted a more comfortable mastication and positively interfered with food digestibility, hence, favoring animal health and well-being