DENTISTRY
Patience, Planning and Time:
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL EXTRACTIONS B y
P a u l
B a s i l i o
Travis J. Henry, DVM, DAVDC (NSS),
DACVDC- EQ, has some invaluable insight to help you plan for equine intraoral extractions in your practice. “Find somebody in your area that likes to perform extractions, get their phone number, and refer all your patients to them,” he joked here at the 65th Annual AAEP Convention in Denver. In all seriousness, Dr. Henry touts a calm head, a solid plan and a clear day. “You have to have patience in planning when you’re going to perform these,” he said. “These are not procedures you do at the end of the day when you’re tired, and they’re not procedures that you do when you’re the primary on-call veterinarian that day. They are procedures that you do when you’ve got an hour or 2 cushion on each side of the procedure so that you are not rushed.”
Any plan for extraction should start with a thorough oral exam. “You’re not going to jump in there and rip a tooth out of a horse’s head without looking at the rest of the oral cavity,” said Dr. Henry, owner of Midwest Veterinary Dental Services in Elkhorn, Wis. Imaging is another necessity. Even if a tooth feels like it could come out with mild digital pressure, Dr. Henry still recommended a radiograph to see what lies beneath the gumline. 12
Issue 5/2020 | ModernEquineVet.com
Shuttersotck/AnnaElizabeth photography
Starting out
