Equine Dentistry DEFRA
| Equine Dentistry The new legislation The Government proposes to extend the range of equine dental procedures which may be undertaken by trained and competent non-veterinarians. |  |
Equine dental technicians are meeting a need in the provision of dental services for horse owners and we aim to regulate their activities by introducing an Exemption Order, under the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966.
The new legislation is currently being drafted in consultation with stakeholders. This will allow those experienced Equine Dental Technicians time to attend a Defra approved training course. Those who successfully complete their training and examinations will be issued with a ‘certificate of satisfactory attendance' by the course provider. Defra will issue a ‘certificate of exemption' to the successful attendees when the legislation comes into force and a list of qualified equine dental technicians will be made available on the DEFRA web site.
The legislation will apply in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Animal welfare
We believe that equine welfare will be protected and owners will be reassured to know that the equine dental technicians they employ are fully trained and competent to treat their animals.
Categories of dental procedures
To adhere to the requirements of the Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966, as it stands, non-veterinarians should only be undertaking simple procedures not deemed ‘acts of veterinary surgery'. Such procedures include:
- Examination of teeth;
- Routine rasping (excluding power rasping);
- Removal of sharp enamel points, small dental overgrowths such as hooks and spurs;
- Bit seat shaping;
- Removal of loose deciduous caps; and
- Removal of supragingival calculus.
- Extraction of loose teeth (out of the mouth). This includes incisors and temporary cheek teeth or those suffering from advanced periodontal disease. Teeth loose by physical accidents should be further investigated by a veterinary surgeon before being removed;
- Extraction of vestigial upper pre-molars or ‘wolf teeth'. Healthy fully erupted and non-displaced wolf teeth only;
- Dental hook removal (removal of large dental overgrowths over 5mm tall and involving at least 50% of the occlusal surface, including overgrowth of the whole tooth);
- Techniques requiring the use of dental shears, inertia hammers and powered dental instruments (including power rasps);
- Non surgical orthodontic treatments;
- Treatment of fractured and diseased teeth (not involving cutting of tissue); and
- Extraction of dental fragments and palliative rasping of fractured and adjacent teeth.
NB: The above is a proposed list and some techniques may be subject to change.
Procedures which must only be undertaken by veterinary surgeons' include: any procedure involving incisions, except ‘gingivial elevation' (lifting of the gums to allow extraction from the mouth) for the purpose of intra-oral extraction of teeth under veterinary supervision; any procedure more hazardous than those listed above, for example, extraction of teeth by repulsion and repair of mandibular fractures. Anaesthetics and sedatives may only be administered by a veterinary surgeon.
Qualified Equine Dental Technicians may, however, form part of the surgical team carrying out a surgical operation on an equine mouth under the direct and continuous supervision of the operating veterinary surgeon, in much the same way that veterinary nurses assist in surgery.
Training
Defra, in consultation with the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, has approved two ‘refresher' training courses for experienced Equine Dental Technicians. These are being run by the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) and the Worldwide Association of Equine Dentists (WWAED). Those who have successfully completed either of these courses will be issued with a ‘certificate of exemption' from Defra and entered on a list of qualified Equine Dental Technicians when the legislation comes into force. Therefore, anyone enlisting the services of such dental technicians will be able to check their status.
Details and dates of the BEVA courses and examinations can be obtained from their website. http://www.beva.org.uk/
Details and dates of the WWAED courses can be obtained from Steve Goode, Telephone 07050 608462; email: steve@wwaed.org or at the WWAED website: http://www.wwaed.org/
Guidance
Guidance on the new legislation is currently being drafted.
This information was published by DEFRA 23 May, 2008
Further Information
WWAED (World Wide Association of Equine Dentistry)
The WWAED is an independent Association of Equine Dentists with DEFRA and RCVS Approval
The WWAED are the only dentist association in the UK that have DEFRA and RCVS approval to hold Level 2 Exemption Examinations. For more information please visit their web site: http://www.wwaed.org/
Find WWAED Registered Equine Dentists HERE
British Equine Veterinary Association
Find BEVA Equine Dental Technicians HERE
Added on: 14/07/08. Views: 533
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