Equine odontoclastic tooth resorption and hypercementosis

Oral and dental diseases are common occurrences in horses. Nevertheless, dental disease are often not apparent and the short dental examination as part of general clinical evaluation is not enough to detect dental problems. Several instrumental investigations are now available beside direct oral examination in horse. During the last years, a poorly described disorder of incisor and canine teeth and their periodontal ligament, with resorptive and proliferative changes of the calcified dental tissues, has recently been documented in aged horses (i.e. older than 15 years). Clinical signs were enlargement of the gingival area, occasionally associated with ulcerations and purulent discharge, painfulness and tooth mobility. A chronological sequence of odontoclastic resorption followed by hypercementosis was demonstrated. EOTRH shares many features with similar dental syndromes described in humans (MIRR) and cats (FORL). No plausible aetiopathogenesis for this syndrome has been recorded. An aetiological hypothesis proposes mechanical stress of the periodontal ligament as the initiating factor