Equine · Specialist care for horses and camels
Horse and camel teeth work differently. Their care should too.
Petdentist EQUINE is bringing the Petdentist® approach, education first and always alongside the professionals, to horses, ponies, donkeys and camels in the UK and the GCC. It is in development, and we are building it with owners, yards and equine professionals.
- Horses, ponies, donkeys and camels
- Education first
- Daily oral-maintenance products in development
- GCC camel programme in development with local partners
Educational only. Always alongside your vet or qualified equine dental technician.
What it is
A specialist division for very different mouths
Short answer: Petdentist EQUINE is the Petdentist® division for horses, ponies, donkeys and camels, and it is in development. It starts with plain-English education, followed by daily oral-maintenance products designed to sit alongside, never instead of, routine examinations by a vet or qualified equine dental technician. A GCC camel programme is being developed with local partners.
A horse's mouth works very differently from a dog's or a cat's. Equine teeth are built for grinding forage, and they keep erupting for most of the animal's life. The care they need, and the professionals who provide it, are different too.
How equine teeth work
Long teeth, a wider upper jaw and a lifetime of grinding
permanent teeth in an adult horse, depending on whether canine teeth (most common in males) and small "wolf teeth" are present.
horses and ponies in the UK, according to UK Pet Food's January 2026 survey.
of horses had periodontal disease in a UK first-opinion study of 932 horses (Suthers and colleagues, 2019).
had diastemata, gaps between cheek teeth where forage can pack, in the same study; 8.2% had peripheral caries.
- Teeth that keep coming. Horses have long-crowned (hypsodont) teeth that erupt continuously through much of adult life, as grinding wears the surface away.
- A wider upper jaw. The upper jaw is wider than the lower (anisognathia), so the grinding surfaces do not wear perfectly evenly and sharp enamel points and hooks can form: one reason routine examinations matter.
- Gaps that trap forage. Diastemata let fibrous feed pack between teeth, and are one of the things a vet or technician checks.
- Age and management. In the UK study, disease was more common in the lower jaw and strongly associated with age. A 2026 study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science found diastemata less common under semi-extensive than extensive management: how horses are kept matters too.
Sources: Suthers et al., UK first-opinion equine population (2019); Frontiers in Veterinary Science (2026); UK Pet Food (January 2026). Population figures are for education only.
Routine care · education only
What routine dental care looks like for a horse
In the UK, routine equine dental care is provided by veterinary surgeons and by equine dental technicians. Technicians can qualify for membership of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians (BAEDT) through an examination run jointly with the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA). It is a voluntary standard, not a legal licence: candidates log 300 case studies before the examination, and members hold indemnity insurance and keep up their CPD. So ask who you are booking, and what qualification they hold.
Most horses are examined every six to twelve months, as your vet or technician advises. Your vet can explain which procedures, including any that need sedation, should only be carried out by a veterinary surgeon. For camels, ask a vet with camel experience how often your animals should be seen.
A routine visit usually includes
- a thorough examination of every tooth, the gums and the soft tissues of the mouth;
- correction of sharp enamel points or hooks where needed, by rasping (also called floating);
- a written record, so changes can be compared from one visit to the next;
- advice on feeding and management, and a date for the next check.
General education, not a guide to doing any of this yourself.
Signs a horse or camel should be seen sooner
Between routine visits, call your vet if you notice dropping partly chewed forage (quidding), slower eating, weight loss, resistance to the bit or head-shaking, swelling of the face or jaw, or an unpleasant smell from the mouth or one nostril. For camels, any change in eating, chewing or condition deserves a veterinary opinion.
When to see your vet
If you notice loose or wobbly teeth, swelling, discharge, bleeding that does not settle, reluctance to eat, dropping food, drooling, pawing at the mouth or any change in behaviour, please contact your veterinary surgeon promptly. Home care supports professional care — it never replaces it.
What Petdentist EQUINE will offer
Education first. Products only when they are ready.
In the Petdentist Daily System, Petdentist EQUINE will serve three steps first: Monitor (what to watch), Support (daily oral maintenance) and Professional Care (examinations by a vet or qualified technician).
First
Plain-English education
Guides for owners, yards and stables: how equine teeth work, what a routine visit involves, how to check a professional's qualification, the signs to watch and simple record-keeping between visits.
In development
Daily oral-maintenance products
Products for horses designed to fit into daily feeding and to sit alongside routine examinations, never instead of them. Nothing will launch without horse-specific safety work behind it.
In development with local partners
A GCC camel programme
Education, and in time products, for camel owners and breeders across the GCC, home to an estimated 579,600 camels in the UAE alone (World Population Review, 2023).
For professionals
Resources for equine vets and technicians
Resources and CPD-style learning through PetdentistPro™, shaped by the professionals who register interest now.
Standards and boundaries
What we will never do
A horse's mouth is skilled professional territory. We help owners understand it, and support the people who work in it.
- Give instructions for rasping, floating or any other dental procedure.
- Present a product as a fix for a dental problem, or as a reason to delay or skip an examination.
- Attach a named condition to a product. We name conditions only to explain what vets and technicians look for.
- Use dog, cat or human evidence to make claims for horses or camels.
- Quote an approval, a study result or a statistic we cannot source.
Questions people ask
Frequently asked questions
Does Petdentist EQUINE sell products for horses now?
Not yet. Petdentist EQUINE is in development. It will begin with plain-English education, and daily oral-maintenance products for horses are being developed to sit alongside routine examinations, never instead of them. Nothing will launch without horse-specific safety work behind it. Register interest by emailing [email protected] and we will keep you informed.
How often should a horse's teeth be checked?
Most horses are examined every six to twelve months, but the right interval depends on the individual horse, so follow the advice of your vet or qualified equine dental technician. Between visits, call your vet sooner if you notice quidding, slower eating, weight loss, resistance to the bit, facial swelling or an unpleasant smell from the mouth or a nostril.
Who should look after my horse's teeth in the UK?
A veterinary surgeon, or an equine dental technician who has qualified for membership of the British Association of Equine Dental Technicians (BAEDT) through the examination run jointly with the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA). BAEDT membership is a voluntary standard rather than a legal licence, so ask who you are booking and what qualification they hold.
How many teeth does a horse have?
An adult horse has between 36 and 44 permanent teeth. The number depends on whether canine teeth, most common in males, and small wolf teeth are present. Horse teeth are hypsodont: long-crowned teeth that erupt continuously through much of adult life as grinding wears them down, which is one reason regular examinations matter.
Why do horses need their teeth rasped?
A horse's upper jaw is wider than its lower jaw, so the grinding surfaces do not wear perfectly evenly, and sharp enamel points and hooks can form. Where needed, a vet or qualified technician corrects them by rasping, also called floating, during a routine visit. It is skilled professional work, and we never give instructions for doing it yourself.
Do you offer anything for camels?
A GCC camel programme is in development with local partners, starting with education for camel owners and breeders. There are an estimated 579,600 camels in the UAE and around two million in Saudi Arabia, according to World Population Review's 2023 figures. For now, ask a veterinary surgeon with camel experience about examinations, and register interest to hear as the programme develops.
Can I use my dog's Petdentist® products on my horse?
No. Petdentist® products are formulated, labelled and served for the species shown on the pack. Horses need products designed and assessed for horses, and we never borrow dog or cat evidence to make claims for them. Please speak to your vet before adding anything new to your horse's feed.
Will Petdentist EQUINE products replace dental examinations?
No. Anything Petdentist EQUINE offers will be designed to sit alongside routine examinations by a veterinary surgeon or a qualified equine dental technician, never instead of them. We will never present a product as a fix for a dental problem, or as a reason to delay or skip an examination.
Register interest
Help us build Petdentist EQUINE properly
Owners, yards and stables, camel owners and breeders, equine vets, qualified technicians and retailers in the UK and the GCC: tell us what you look after, where, and what would help most.