Equine dentist visits the Channel Islands to help horses look after their teeth

  • ITV Channel's Bronwen Brown joined the dentist on his latest visit

A specialist equine dentist has come over to the Channel Islands to brush, file and clean the teeth of the Bailiwicks' horses.

Dental technician Curtis Thompson travels from Wiltshire twice a year to perform regular check-ups on horses' teeth and ensure they are not cutting into the facial tissue.

Without a regular specialist in the islands, horse owners can have teeth, gums and jaws checked for any cavities or infections.

The equine dentistry industry has remained the same for hundreds of years and only some of the tools used have been updated from the originals.

Teeth filing is still performed by hand whilst other elements of the check-ups now use motorised tools, speeding up the process for both the dentist and the horse.

Equine dentists still use some of the same tools and techniques from more than 100 years ago. Credit: ITV Channel

"Horses develop the same sort of defects as humans do really," Mr Thompson explained.

"So they can have cavities, they sometimes need extractions.

"With horses, the way that their teeth are formed, the enamel forms on the outside of their teeth as they grind and becomes really sharp so to make them more comfortable, we reduce those sharp points."