This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (BRIAN C JACOBSEN) This is going to be an interesting letter for me to write as well as for you to read. I was just going to bite my lip on the subject of equine dentists at first, but I feel that it is only fair to make you all aware of what I am about to write, and then it is up to you how you react to it.
In most states, equine dentists are breaking the law by doing what they do. Got your attention? Before I go on, let me give you some background for what I am about to write. The subject of equine dentists is a sore one for many veterinarians. Although several of yesterdays posts mentioned that some veterinarians refer their clients to an equine dentist for tooth work, many veterinarians actually feel that equine dentists are unwanted competition. The interesting thing is that veterinarians are actually the ones to blame that there are any non-veterinarians working on horses' teeth in the first place. You see, floating teeth properly is hard work. And although most veterinarians are extremely hard workers, some realized that vaccinating horses was much easier and they would rather just do that type of thing, as long as they were making enough money. So that opened the door for someone else to step in and start doing the work. Now, equine dentistry by non-veterinarians has become fairly widespread. And many veterinarians, feeling the pinch of horse owners deworming and vaccinating their own animals, etc,(which only used to be done by veterinarians), are wishing the teeth floating business had not been "given away". So more and more veterinarians are "reacquainting" themselves with floating teeth. I personally was given good instruction in vet school on the subject of floating teeth, and was lucky enough to end up in a practice where it was felt to be very important and where it is done well. And to give you my personal feelings about equine dentistry by non-veterinarians, I am very much against it. I will, however, to the best of my ability give you a balanced view of the pros and cons of you as horse owners using them. First, the bad news. Equine dentistry by anyone other than a veterinarian is against the Veterinary Practice Act in almost every state. The Veterinary Practice Act is part of the state law, so it is actually against the law. Why is anyone doing it then? Several reasons. One is that lawmakers and the courts are too busy already and not too worried about what is going on with animals. So even if it is ever brought to their attention, they are not too concerned about it. Another reason is that when veterinarians raise a stink about it going on, they often end up being looked at as the bad guys. Most horse owners don't realize equine dentists are breaking the law, and they think the veterinarians are just trying to squash competition. So vets often just look the other way. If someone other than a veterinarian sedates a horse, unless they were directed to do so by the veterinarian, they are breaking the law. Although many dentists would have you believe they have some kind of special way with horses and don't need sedatives, in reality they know it is illegal and most of them have no training in the use of sedatives. Removing a horse's wolf teeth in particular without a sedative is painful, whether the dentist would have you believe it or not, and in my opinion is unacceptable without sedative pain-killers. There is no such thing as a licensed equine dentist. There is no license available. A license like that would have to be given by the State, and as mentioned above, it is illegal for someone else to work on a horse's teeth. Now there are Certified Equine Dentists out there. These dentists have taken a course in equine dental work, given by other equine dentists, and upon passing, can call themselves "certified". Here are a few more things you most likely do not know about equine dentists. They do not carry any kind of liablity insurance. If they screw up while working on your horse, and it happens sometimes, you are SOL. This means you will then have to go to a veterinarian to get your horse fixed, or maybe even a vet school or surgery referral practice, and gets who foots the bill? You. And what recourse do you have against the dentist? You can't sue them for malpractice or negligence because they are not licensed and are not recognized as a profession. You did not have any signed contract with them so you cannot sue for breach of contract. You might be able to just sue in small claims court (or regular court depending on the amount of money involved) but good luck as these cases have low priority. This whole issue particulary irks veterinarians - that dentists do not have the medical training, knowledge, materials, instruments, etc, to correct their own mistakes. And you, as the customer of that dentist, have essentially no recourse. Think about almost any other type of work or profession - that is very unusual. I promised to make this balanced, and I will give some good points about equine dentists at the end, but let me go on for a moment. To be fair, this next thing could also be said about veterinarians. Some dentists only know how to do a very basic job. Anything that would be called advanced work just doesn't get done and you will not be told about it being necessary on your horse. On the other hand, to be fair, some dentists know very well what they are doing and do a better job than most veterinarians. If an equine dentist will not allow anyone else to be in the stall or watching while they are working, BEWARE! Some dentists tell you they need the horse to only concentrate on them, or some such line, so no one else can be around. Well, John Lyons seems to be able to get the horses to concentrate on him even with hundreds of people watching. Same thing for Richard Shrake, Monty Roberts, and all of the other trainers that are frequently mentioned on this list. So what exactly is the dentist doing that no one else can watch? I'm afraid that more often the answer is "What is he not doing?" Horse owners have been sneaky at times, and have found ways to watch what the fellow is doing without him knowing, and have been startled to see the dentist rubbing his files on the feed box or stall walls, and banging around in his bucket enough to make some nice, busy-sounding noise, while all the time he has never even touched the horse. Surprised? So were the horse owners! So what is the good news about equine dentists? Some of them are very good at what they do. Five days a week, fifty weeks out of the year, all they are doing is floating teeth. Even the ones who have no specialized training often do a decent job, because just a "standard" float, for sharp points for instance, is not technically difficult. Any one reading this could be taught to do it in about ten minutes. Although strength was mentioned in one post, with the good files we have today, stamina is more important. And these guys are in shape to float teeth and have the necessary stamina. Also, they are usually very likable fellows (I haven't heard of a female equine dentist yet but I'm sure there must be one somewhere). Now I realize that some people are going to write back and say "I use a dentist because my veterinarian doesn't seem to want to do it." To me, that is a terrible shame, but I realize it happens. And some will say, "I've had both the vet and the dentist do it, and the dentist seemed to do a better job." Again, that is terrible that a veterinarian would not do a good job, but I realize it happens. Here are some suggestions if you feel you need to use an equine dentist: -Insist that you get to watch him work. -Ask that he show you the teeth before and after (not just the incisors; the molars too). If you can't see much of a difference, either the teeth did not need floating, or it was not done well. -If he's not looking in your horse's mouth with a flashlight, he is not seeing the rear molars well enough. Wonder about what kind of job he is doing. Even in the sunlight it is hard to get sunlight aimed way back in there where you need it. Actually, as I reread those, you should hold your veterinarian to those same guidlelines. Did I present a balanced view? I tried. To me though, the cons far outweigh the pros. I feel it is not only best, but also in your best interest to use a veterinarian if at all possible. I hope, though, that I have given you some good information to help you decide for yourself. Brian Jacobsen, DVM Norwegian Fjordhest Ranch Salisbury, North Carolina ___________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
