Diastema & Periodontitis (Food Pocketing, Gum Pockets)

Veterinary care required

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

Priority · vet & management

Diagnosis and treatment belong with a vet/equine dentist (thorough oral exam, often with radiography). The range goes from clearing and flushing the pockets through adjusting tooth edges to specialised measures (e.g. widening the diastema) — all under sedation. Complementary feeds cannot fix the cause.

Possible causes

• · too-narrow or too-wide tooth positioning, faulty development
• · shifting/tilting of teeth, gaps from tooth loss
• · feed impaction in the gap with subsequent gum inflammation
• · favoured by untreated tooth malpositions over time

Supportive compounds · supplementary feed, not medication

Prevention

Regular dental checks detect developing gaps and malpositions early, so that feed pockets and the painful periodontitis can be avoided or treated early as far as possible.

Equiterna's take

Equiterna emphasises the pain aspect in diastema periodontitis: affected horses often eat visibly differently. Because the disease can progress, the regular professional oral check is the central lever — not feeding.