26/02/2018
Dental tartar "odontolithiasis" "dental calculi" "dental plque" تسوس الاسنان
Dental tartar commonly accumulates on any, or all, of the teeth and is most obvious on the lower canine.
It is unusual for this to cause any significant gingival inflammation and/or alveolar infection.
Extensive accumulations of tartar on the incisors and canine teeth may be an indication of underlying systemic disease (e.g. renal disease or equine motor neuron disease) but is commonly an incidental observation in healthy (particularly, old) horses.
Chronic gingival inflammation caused by dental calculus or other irritants may give rise to a benign inflammatory hyperplasia (epulis) of the gum.
Again, the most obvious site for this is the buccal margin of the canine teeth but it may equally develop at any other site along the tooth–gum margin.
It seldom reaches significant size although localized cheek swelling may be detected in severe cases.
The subsequent development of neoplastic tissue, usually fibroma or fibrosarcoma but occasionally squamous cell (or undifferentiated) carcinoma, at these sites suggests that the inflammatory reaction may have longer-term significance.
