Dental and head anatomy:

• Anatomical crown = part of tooth covered by enamel.
• Apical = area of teeth furthest from the occlusal surface.
• Lingual = medial aspect of lower teeth.
• Palatal = medial aspect of upper cheek teeth.
• Buccal = lateral aspect of upper and lower teeth.
• Labial = rostral and rostro lateral aspect of teeth.
• Interproximal/interdental = area of teeth facing other teeth.
• 25% of mandibular cheek teeth still have no root developments 12 months after eruption.
• Odontoblasts = end cells (can't differentiate), with age they form processes called cytoplasmic extensions.
• In cheek teeth, mineralization starts at each cusp tip.
• Enamel = hardest/most dense bodily substance due to the high mineral content which only gains it's colour from underlying dentin. Almost fully composed of impure hydroxyapatite crystals and is brittle.
• Dentin = cream-coloured, calcified tissue, 70% minerals and 30% organic components, primary + secondary dentin and has dentinal tubes.
• Pulp = soft tissue within dental cavities containing connective tissue skeleton.
• Hypsodont teeth need to lay secondary dentin to prevent occlusal exposure.
• Teeth in older horses contain large amounts of secondary dentin which is harder to rasp.
• Cement = white/cream, calcified dental tissue with mechanical characteristics similar to bone.
• Canine teeth are 0.5-1cm long and when fully erupted can be 5-7cm long.
• Premolars/wolf teeth can be 1-25cm long.
• Nerves are present in dental pulp.
• Teeth have a strong blood supply.
• The 2 mandible sections fuse at 2-3 months old.
• Coarse foliage for teeth grinding.
• In domesticated horses the forage tends to be softer in grass so their chewing/grinding is reduced.
• The mandible drops down to open the mouth.
• In young horses, you can feel their teeth on mandible and maxilla.
• 12 incisors, 12 premolars, 12 molars and up to 4 canines.
• Mares = 36 teeth and males = 40 teeth depending on canines and wolf teeth.
• Temporomandibular joint = mastication, cartilage between 2 convex ends and on an articulating disc.
• Coronoid process = bone protrusion with a fat pad that moves during grazing.
• Tooth structure = clinical crown - what you see, reserve crown - waiting to erupt, relatively short roots, upper arcade has 3 roots, lower arcade has 2 roots and incisors have 1 root.
• Infundibulum = small hole in the top of the tooth.
• Pulp layer = deepest layer, nerve/blood supply, lymphatic supply and odontoblasts.
• Muscles for mastication = masseter, digastricus and medial + lateral pterygoids.
• Pterygoids = large, inside from the upper maxilla to the facial crest.
• The masseter is very thick.
• Digastricus = occipital area to the facial crest to enable the mouth to open.
• Natural grazing encourages the use of incisors.
• There are 24 deciduous teeth.
• Numbering systems = 1-3 incisors, 4 canines, 5-8 premolars, 9-11 molars, upper right 1, upper left 2, lower left 3 and lower right 4.
• Hyoid apparatus = styloid process attaches upwards and basihyoid/lingual processes sit under the tongue.