Michelle Thompson is an equine dental technician specialising in full mouth equine dentistry and treating horses in Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire. She helps to treat a vast number of equine dental problems, from rasping to dental extractions including the use of power instrumentation.
Michelle explains the majority of problems that occur in horses are mainly due to a lack of regular dental maintenance. "If the horse is not assessed every six months, there is an increased risk of the horse suffering dental disorders. These include uneven wear of teeth (hooks, ramps and protuberant teeth), fractured and loose teeth, tartar, decay, ulcers and bitting injuries."
Michelle's own problems with her teeth were genetic rather than a lack of dental maintenance and she decided to see if the Six Months Smiles programme could help achieve the smile she had always wanted. Murray Hawkins was able to straighten Michelle's upper teeth using tooth coloured train track braces.
Murray said, "Over the past ten to fifteen years there has been a dawning realisation that no one has to live with crooked or misshapen teeth. Celebrities like Tom Cruise have had white train track braces; similarly, Six Month Smiles is a rapid cosmetic alignment system available from Winning Smiles; Cheryl Cole had Invisalign braces which are practically invisible and the Duchess of Cambridge used lingual orthodontics - a technique that works by straightening the teeth from behind so making it invisible to any onlooker. All of these techniques are now available to Winning Smiles patients."
Michelle said she is delighted with her new smile. "It was interesting being on the receiving end of dental treatment and to see the developments in human dentistry which, like those in equine dentistry, have evolved considerably in the last decade."
Michelle qualified in 2008, through the Academy of Equine Dentistry, Idaho (USA). The Academy is a place where all the equine dentists from around the world can share their experiences and knowledge.
Michelle explains that a horse's teeth are known as hypsodont which like beavers and other rodents keep erupting throughout their life, which with horses can be a growth of 2-3mm a year. The lower teeth grind against the stationery upper rows of teeth throughout the year, which keeps the dentition in order. The teeth are designed to be abraded against each other for approximately 18-20 hours a day. However, taking the horse out of his natural environment - for example stabling him on hay, haylage or concentrates reduces chewing time to as little as 8-10 hours a day. As a result, this has a huge impact on the dentition causing over eruption of the teeth. This highlights the importance of having equine dental technician to float (rasp) the horses' teeth every six months to avoid over eruption or other problems occurring.
For further information contact Winning Smiles Dental Care, call 01747 826222, email dentist@winningsmilesgillingham.com or check out: www.winningsmilesgillingham.com
For further information on equine dentistry, contact: Michelle Thompson at bluefishcontractors@yahoo.co.uk