Question

My nine-year-old son has been told that sweets coupled with not brushing his teeth will cause dental cavities. He would like to know if his horse will get cavities because he eats sweet feed and is unable to brush his teeth.

Answer

Horses can develop cavities, but the incidence of cavities in horses and ponies is far less than in humans. Equine dentists report cavities in approximately one of every 15 horses referred for professional dentistry services. Diet composition accounts for the general lack of decay in horse teeth; horses eat less sugar than humans. Even horses that consume feed coated with molasses (sweet feed) ingest only small amounts of sugar because the staple of their diet is likely forage (hay or pasture), which contains only minimal sugar. Progression of a cavity is arrested in horses the same way it is in humans. The decay is eradicated and the subsequent hole is patched with a composite filling.