A horse's permanent teeth erupt throughout life. The "reserve crown" is that major part of the tooth (the equivalent of the root) that is embedded in the bone of the upper or lower jaw. The large grinding teeth have a block shaped surface with ridges of hard enamel along their grinding surface. The enamel ridges become sharp with wear and this allows the teeth to efficiently grind and cut grass and coarse feed. The upper rows of teeth are spaced somewhat wider than the lower. This means enamel points develop on the outside (cheek side) of the upper teeth and the inside (tongue side) of the lower teeth.

Depending upon a variety of factors (quality of occlusion or bite, type of feed, genetics) the enamel ridges can become overgrown. This can cause an inability of the jaws (molar rows) to slide well against one another, and can cause pain and wounding of the cheeks and tongue. This results in inefficient and painful chewing, and in severe cases can cause malnutrition and weight loss.

In addition, certain dental overgrowths can cause pain or discomfort with bitting.

DIAGNOSIS- always requires dental examination. Proper examination requires that the mouth is cleaned of feed, the use of an excellent light source, and in some cases manual palpation (feeling) of the teeth. Depending on practitioner experience and preference, sedation and the use of a speculum may be required even for that basic assessment. For very DETAILED examination of the teeth, sedation and a full mouth speculum is ALWAYS needed.

TREATMENT- involves selective removal or reduction of overgrown dental points, hooks. There is a wide range of opinion about what constitutes proper equine dental maintenance. Ramps, waves and high teeth may be reduced variably, depending on situation and practitioner philosophy and training.