23/05/2026
We were lucky enough to have our visiting Specialist Surgeon again today for some cases I needed help with.
One was a 9yo STB who I’ve seen in the past, he has a double set of upper 09 molars! Or as we called is ‘bonus teeth’.
These have not been causing an issue until now, but I saw him on Monday because he had developed large lumps on the maxilla and I was concerned about a few things, abscess, tooth root fracture etc.
So I referred him for a second opinion and some X-rays.
The findings were that he indeed does have bonus teeth and they are trying to come down lower, causing ‘eruption cysts’. Why this is happening as a 9yo, we do not know. These particular 09 teeth are supposed to be fully done with their eruption 5-6 years ago!
But the upshot is that we will keep an eye on them and when they start to cause trouble, have them removed.
It will be quite a difficult surgery, so it’ll only be done when they become problematic for him.
The other horse has a piece of fractured molar sitting in a spot causing a lot of feed packing and periodontal disease, this will need to be surgically extracted (not through the mouth), so a trip to the Sunshine Coast for her.
I’m glad we have some answers, and I got to play Vet Nurse for the first time again in many years!
