The challenges that come with being a horse dentist
When Black Beauty*, a ninemonth-old foal destined to be an Arabian show horse, fractured her face in a collision, her future would have been bleak were it not for the skills of Associate Professor Denis聽Verwilghen.
As the field of jaw and face surgery (鈥榤axillofacial surgery鈥�) tends to be more advanced for humans than for horses,聽Verwilghen called on a human-maxillofacial expert, Belgium-based surgeon Professor Maurice Mommaerts, to聽help him tackle the complexities of Black Beauty鈥檚 case.
It took the two surgeons three and a half hours to reconstruct the foal鈥檚 face, but the operation was such a聽success that two years later Black Beauty went on to win third聽prize at the Arabian Horse World Championships, with first prize for the most beautiful head (yes, that鈥檚 really a thing).
鈥淚鈥檝e always ridden horses, but I鈥檓 also passionate about caring for them and looking at preventative medicine rather than curative medicine.鈥�
Being a surgeon specialising in the mouths and heads of horses is not your run-of the-mill profession, but after studying as a vet at the University of Ghent in Belgium, Verwilghen felt he needed to know 鈥渁 lot about a little, rather than a little about a lot鈥�, so he did a degree in equine surgery followed by a PhD in orthopaedics.
Associate Professor Denis聽Verwilghen with horse.
鈥淗orses have always been my passion,鈥� Verwilghen says.聽鈥淚鈥檝e always ridden horses, but I鈥檓 also passionate about caring for them and looking at preventative medicine rather than curative medicine.鈥�
Verwilghen now heads the southwest of Sydney, the equine arm of the University of Sydney鈥檚 Veterinary Teaching Hospitals. The centre鈥檚 multidisciplinary team includes leading equine specialists with skills in internal medicine, surgery, anaesthesia, diagnostic imaging and emergency critical care. Their patients can be anything from donkeys to racehorses and showjumpers.
Hold your horses
The importance of dental care in horses has been known for a long聽time, with writing on the subject聽dating back to long before Christ. As a profession however, it聽is聽still developing.
鈥淎t the end of the last century, there was some disinterest in the field from the equine profession because it鈥檚 a hard and dangerous job. A horse鈥檚 mouth is relatively deep 鈥� 20, 30 centimetres 鈥� you can鈥檛 just stick your head in there and have a look,鈥� Verwilghen says.
A big problem in equine dentistry is being able to see where the problem is.
You might expect that work on horses would happen under general anaesthetic. In fact, horses recovering from a general anaesthetic are liable to try to take off before they properly regain consciousness, potentially endangering themselves and any people nearby.聽But thanks to breakthrough medications, equine veterinarians can now sedate horses and treat them standing up. Affordable camera technology is also making it much easier to investigate a horse鈥檚 mouth.
鈥淚t has totally opened up the field of dentistry,鈥� Verwilghen says. 鈥淵ou know the saying: if a carpenter only has a hammer, everything is a nail? When I was being educated, they鈥檇 say there鈥檚 no such thing as tooth decay, because the only treatment device we had聽was a scraping tool called a rasp. So, everything was聽treated as an overgrowth.鈥�
No one can talk to a horse, of course
Not only is tooth decay (鈥榗aries鈥�) now recognised in horses, but treatments have been developed to prevent root infections or fractures that could create more complex problems. The rule of the rasp is also being challenged, with Verwilghen educating the horse community about the importance of regular dental care聽and diagnosis.
Horses are kept calm for their own safety and that of the staff.
To advance things further, the Camden Equine Centre is currently fundraising for what would be NSW鈥檚 first standing CT scanner for horses. This kind of diagnostic imaging could help solve the eternal problem of all vets: that animals can鈥檛 tell them where the pain is. The scanner could also pinpoint small but dangerous trouble spots in large animal bodies.
Verwilghen鈥檚 collaboration with Professor Maurice Mommaerts also continues. One shared project sees them using the 3D-printed jaw joints of sheep to develop treatments that could benefit animals and humans with serious jaw damage.
鈥淥ur collaboration is enriching both sides,鈥� Verwilghen聽says.
Caring for animals when they need it most
Animal health and welfare is a key area of research and service provison at the Univeristy. To learn more of to help us to help animals, please call Judith O'Hagan on +61 2 8627 8818 or email development.fund@sydney.edu.au
Written by Rebekah Hayden. Photography by Stefanie Zingsheim.