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Big Dental Drill Helps Keep Horse Teeth Heathly
A new tool is making horse dentistry simpler and more effective, and that's good news for horses and their owners. The "Power Float" is a right angle dental drill made extra large to fit a horse's mouth. Its tungsten blade won't grab gums or tissue. Although sold only to veterinarians, knowing about it could be a good idea for horse owners. It makes dental work on horses fast and easy compared to using hand tools.
"It's important to do regular dentistry to ensure that the wear is even on the horse's teeth, so it can chew normally and have a long, normal life," says inventor Dennis Rach, DVM. "If a horse loses its teeth, it will end the horse's life. They are vital to its survival."
His Power Float has caught on quickly, with more than 2,000 sold in North America, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
Because horse teeth don't all make contact, they develop sharp points or spurs on the inside of the lower teeth along the tongue and on the outside of the top teeth along the cheek. A vet equipped with the Power Float can grind down these points and also adjust the bite on incisors and molars if they aren't wearing fast enough or are growing too long.
Like in people, a little prevention can go a long way. Indications of dental problems can include: dropping food while chewing, eating slowly, drooling saliva from cuts in the tongue and cheeks, weight loss, unchewed oats in the manure, colic and puffed cheeks.
For horse owners interested in knowing more, Rach recommends a DVD titled "Digital Equus" produced by Dr. B.A. Rucker, Lebanon, Virginia. It can be viewed and ordered from www.digitalequus.com.
"It gives an excellent sense of what equine dental care is all about," says Rach. "Dr. Rucker is a leading equine dental veterinarian in the USA."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, D & B Equine Enterprises, Inc., 207 Silverhill Way N.W., Calgary, Alberta, Canada T3B 4K9 (ph 403 615-2661 or 877 969-2233; website: www.powerfloat.net).


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2004 - Volume #28, Issue #5