HOW-TO SESSION: DENTISTRY


How to Radiograph Incisors and Canines Jack Easley, DVM, DAVDC (Equine)


Author’s address: Equine Veterinary Practice, PO Box 1075, Shelbyville, KY 40065; e-mail: easleydvm@aol.com. © 2018 AAEP.


1. Introduction


Little has been contributed to the veterinary litera- ture on diseases of the equine incisor and canine teeth until the last 20 years.1 In the past, these teeth have been used to help determine the age of horses, but their disease status has been neglected. Veterinarians have recognized fractures and avul- sion injuries of these teeth especially in young colts but have not critically evaluated the injury to the subgingival portion of the involved teeth, surround- ing bone, and permanent tooth buds (Fig. 1). Su- pernumerary incisors are often present and visible on examination and can be difficult to differentiate from retained deciduous teeth on gross crown eval- uation alone. Displaced and dysplastic teeth are encountered but an evaluation of reserve crown and root position and conformation is dependent on im- aging below the gum (Fig. 2). In older horses, hy- percementosis and internal resorptive lesions are often seen clinically as gingivitis and caries with tenderness in this area. Radiographs are neces- sary to diagnose and plan treatment for this painful condition commonly known as equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis (EOTRH).2 Super imposition of the right-left and upper-lower arcades has made obtaining extraoral diagnostic radiographs of the incisor teeth problematic. In- traoral radiographic techniques have been perfected to make taking diagnostic radiographs of the incisor


NOTES


and canine teeth of the standing sedated horse pos- sible.3–6 Canine teeth can usually be radiographed using a combination of intraoral and extraoral oblique views. The technique described in this ses- sion will make the process of obtaining high-quality diagnostic radiographs of the front teeth easy and clinically rewarding. The common use of computed and digital radiography in equine practice has made it more convenient to acquire dental images in the field. The most common problems with acquiring good quality, diagnostic films include positioning er- rors, exposure anomalies, movement artifacts, label- ing errors, and imaging processing faults.7


2. Materials and Methods


Radiographs of the equine teeth can be obtained with most portable imaging systems commonly used in the field. Portable systems are easier to manip- ulate into position around the head than gantry- mounted machines. Exposure requirements are not high for dental radiographs, and conventional radiograph cassettes with rare-earth screens or com- puted radiography (CR) and digital radiography (DR) systems can be used. Exposure for rostral skull radiographs are less than that required for the cheek teeth and sinuses. This portion of the head has less thickness, and most of the change in settings is a reduction in kVp, with only a small reduction in mAs. Proper machine collimation in


30 2018  Vol. 64  AAEP PROCEEDINGS


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