What happens if a young horse gets their front teeth knocked out/broken?

I just bought a young gelding. He turns 3 this month. I went to an auction with an interest in three horses, but came back with Smoke N' (love at first sight) without doing a full check on him. Before I got him he had his front two incisors knocked out or broken off. I had my vet out to look at his mouth and he wouldn't commit, he said that there is a slight possibility that these were baby teeth and the adult teeth will erupt. If they were adult teeth, it is unlikely that the teeth were completely knocked out since on a 3 year old they would be very deep. Will the broken tooth eventually grow out with regular dental care? Missing front teeth will really take their toll.

What happens if a young horse gets their front teeth knocked out/broken?
One of our horses ripped out his own tooth on a latch. He grabbed it in his teeth...and then jerked back...like he was trying to rip the latch off.





This was only a baby tooth. He was about 16 months old. He also damaged the bone. About a thumb size piece was sticking out of his mouth with the tooth attached still to the bone. The vet wired the bone back in place and lined everything up. Everyone said...because it was a baby tooth, there would be no problems.





Well, the bone healed, and the tooth stayed in. Everything seemed fine. Then he lost the baby tooth. And there was no replacement. So, now at 8 years old...he is missing an incisor. We have to keep up with his dental, because the bottom incisor grows UP into the missing space.





It doesn't seem to bother him at all though. Grazes and eats just fine. But yours is missing two. Like the others say...get an equine DENTIST...not just the vet.





It'd be great though if they would just grow down and fill in the spot...huh? But I know now...it depends on the damage done...that we can't see.
Reply:Hopefully you'll get lucky and they were just baby teeth, but if not, I think they'll grow back. Good luck!
Reply:I would contact an equine dentist... they know more about teeth than the vets do... that is their specialty! :-)....


If it is a baby tooth, then the adult tooth should push it out, if not, you probably have a little bit of a situation :-)...


You can probably call a dentist and get some questions answered over the phone. It may be best to wait it out for a bit and see how the teeth look in a bit before spending large amounts of money... Hope everything turns out okay
Reply:probably all ready has his permanent front teeth and if so I don't be live they will do any thing. they are like us they get 2 sets of teeth. my colt got his kicked out at 1 but got lucky and mature set coming in now and he just turned 2.
Reply:animals can live long and fruitful lives with missing teeth, is he fit, if so, he is doing alright


try goggleing the answer, on age of horses teething. i know you will love him even if his teeth are broke
Reply:I would want this horse examined again by a vet or equine dentist. Obviously your vet couldn't tell you if they were baby or adult teeth, and that is going to make a huge difference.


You've had a poster comment that you will still love him even if he has broken teeth. This isn't about love or cosmetic beauty, as you've already noted, you can't tell whether a horse is missing teeth without looking carefully, anyhow. This is about how it will impact him grazing.


If they were baby teeth you'll probably be okay. Unless the damage to the baby teeth injured the adult teeth underneath, that can happen with both people and horses. If they are permanent teeth, then it will depend if the teeth have only been broken off and then will slowly grow in height and eventually be where they need to be, or whether they are damaged or totally missing.


If your horse has permanently damaged or missing front teeth you are going to see some problems in the future. As you know, horses crop the grass with their front teeth. If this horse is missing front teeth he will not be able to crop grass very well, but may do better on hay. If his weight is decent he obviously has been managing well for now, but you will need to really keep an eye on things if he goes out into pasture.


The next problem to consider is - what will happen to his bottom teeth? Without anything to meet the bottom teeth, the ones below will grow too long and begin to cause problems, too. Also, the teeth on each side of the missing teeth are going to shift and fall into the empty space, which will then effect his entire mouth.


At the very least, this horse will likely require very frequent dental care from a good vet or equine dentist. He will grow sharp edges and extra long teeth and will need them floated much more often than the regular horse. Most young horses need to be floated at least yearly, but in this case I would suspect he will need to be done twice a year at the very least. Then you will need to see how things go. If he has problems maintaining weight you might need to provide him extra calories in the form of pellets, pre-chopped hay, or even some oil in his grain. But perhaps it won't be a problem, so I wouldn't rush out and start feeding him this unless necessary.


If you ever sell this horse, please make sure you make his dental history known. Without good care he is likely to suffer. Good luck, hopefully all will be well.
Reply:Horses dont have individual teeth like humans do.Horses have one large section of teeth.When a horse is born,as much as 4 inches of the tooth is imbedded in the horses jaw bone and overtime it wears away due to grazing or vices such as cribbing.If there was no section of teeth there because it was knocked out,then give it time and the teeth will come through.





Until then,I suggest you should feed the horse more grain and lose hay because the incisor teeth are used for pulling up grass and since your gelding doesnt have any front insisors...its hard for him to pull up grass on his own.
Reply:It all depends on when this accident happened. If this accident happened before 1 year of age, then the teeth should grown back. If it happened after one year of age, my guess would be that those would be permanent teeth. The front teeths caps usually fall off at 1 year of age, and the intermediate teeths (the middle teeth) cap fall of at 2 years of age and the corner teeths (the outside teeth) cap usually falls off by 3 years of age.





My guess is that the teeth that were knocked out were adult teeth. As to whether they will grow back or not would be up to an equine dentist to determine.





The other problem is that when they are young, their mouth is very susceptible to damage. If say the horse gets kicked (by another horse) in the mouth or say they stumble and fall and their mouth hits the ground (you can see it takes a lot of force) it can alter the way the teeth will grow in. My mare had something like that happen to her, her corner grows at an angle rather than straight down. We have tried correcting it, but its not the tooth, its the jaw. So, we just have to keep it floated, as it doesnt' meet with the bottom one to wear it down. This would have to be something you do with you guy.





I would definently get an equine dentist out, and perhaps another vets opinion. Theres worst things out there than this, so don't be discouraged, especially if you love him.
Reply:Rach is right, he won't be any good at grazing on grass.
Reply:Just a thought......





The vets carry the portable X-ray units. 99 % of the time it's used for lameness.





Wonder if the vet can tranq your horse and get a picture of the jaw/ teeth. ( missing or fragmented)





Certainly would be helpful to know what you are dealing with long term.
Reply:My two year old pony stallion got his two front teeth knocked out by my draft cross and they greww back perfectly after about a month he still could eat and everything...if the horse stil has s little bit of tooth in the gum can the vet or it could get infected...
Reply:I am not completly sure - but isnt that normal for them to lose their caps? I just got a 4 yr old last week and his fronts are chipped like halfway, but my trainer and the vet both said it was normal. maybe it is the same? lol.
Reply:It depends entirely upon whether or not they were baby or adult teeth knocked out. It would be worth getting the opinion of an equine dental tech rather than a vet as they are more experienced with teeth. You could also have his head xrayed as this will let you see whether the adult teeth are still there.





If they're not there and it was the adult teeth he lost then it's necessarily all bad. He may struggle to graze but will have no bother eating a feed or chopped forage. The stud where we got our colt from had a colt that had had an infection or something in the womb and was born without any top incisors. He managed absolutly fine and was feed mainly on grass and haylage. If the adult teeth are broken and under the gum then they should be carefully looked at with xrays to decide if they will grow out and be viable. If not then it would be worth discussing the removal of the bits left as they may prevent the horse from using the top gum as a pad to oppose the bottom incisors.


Basically you need to have some xrays done to determine exactly what is going on and then discuss with an equine dental expert. You may need to get a referal to an equine hospital - I would recommend one that teaches as they tend to have the best vets.
Reply:they might grow back or they wont..


trust me I'm a horse trainer