Cheek Tooth Fracture / Apical Tooth Infection

Veterinary care required

This condition belongs in veterinary diagnosis and treatment. Compounds are at most supportive.

Priority · vet & management

Diagnosis and therapy are strictly veterinary: confirmation usually by radiography, possibly computed tomography and endoscopy of the paranasal sinuses. Depending on the findings, tooth extraction and/or flushing/treatment of the sinus are needed; antibiotic treatment is a prescription veterinary medicine and belongs solely in veterinary hands. Complementary feeds have no role here.

Possible causes

• · tooth fracture through hard foreign bodies or weakened tooth substance
• · progressive caries or periodontal disease with root involvement
• · infection conducted via the root tip (apical abscess)
• · anatomical proximity of the upper cheek-tooth roots to the maxillary sinus

Supportive compounds · supplementary feed, not medication

Prevention

Regular dental checks with assessment of the cheek teeth (and radiography if suspected) help to detect fractures, caries and beginning root infections early, before the maxillary sinus is involved.

Equiterna's take

Equiterna deliberately links this picture to sinusitis: one-sided, foul-smelling nasal discharge in the horse often has a dental cause. That belongs swiftly in veterinary diagnostics — self-treatment or feeding measures are not an option.