Sedation In Equine Dentistry
Posted by Geoff Tucker on Sun, Jul 05, 2009
The opinions and views of this blog is for information and entertainment only and should not be used as a substitute for seeking advice from your veterinarian about your horse and your situation. Specific advice may only be given after a valid veterinary - client - patient relationship is made.
In modern equine dentistry, many terms from human dentistry are now being used in the horse field and sedation dentistry is one of them. It's use in equine dentistry is primarily to play on your own fears of the human dentist based on your prior experiences. The method of sedation equine dentistry applies the use of sedation to every horse. However, it's use is for the benefit of the operator only because the popular drug used (detomidine) has poor pain relieving characteristics inside the mouth of the horse. The best pain relieving medication (butorphenol) is a controlled substance and can only be used by a vet. Lay dentists are breaking the law if they carry and administer any drug labeled "use by or on the order of a veterinarian". They are in violation of federal law if they posess a controlled substance. In order for a vet to be involved, there must be a valid Patient-Client-Veterinarian relationship which is described in law. In my practice, over the past year, the need to use drugs in a horse is about 1 in 10 horses.
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Geoff Tucker, DVM is licensed under a
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