Equine dentistry: Survey on Swiss horse owners
Authors: Schiesser E, Geyer H, Kummer M, Jackson M
Journal: Schweiz Arch Tierheilkd
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Swiss Horse Owners' Knowledge and Preferences in Equine Dentistry Reflecting growing professional interest in equine dentistry over the past 15 years, Schiesser and colleagues surveyed 1,466 Swiss horse owners (45% response rate) using a 20-question questionnaire in three national languages to assess their understanding of dental care, treatment preferences, and attitudes towards sedation. More than half of respondents felt inadequately informed about dental problems, their underlying causes, and available treatment methods—yet they demonstrated clear demand for education from credible sources, relying primarily on word-of-mouth recommendations rather than professional guidance. Encouragingly, 66.7% of horses received dental treatment from veterinarians with specialist education, indicating some market awareness of qualifications, though the persistence of informal information channels suggests significant communication gaps. These findings underscore that horse owners actively seek reliable knowledge about dental health but currently lack adequate access to it, highlighting both an educational need and an opportunity for veterinary specialists and other equine professionals to establish themselves as trusted information sources. The authors recommend that equine dental treatment should be performed exclusively by formally trained veterinary specialists—advice grounded in owner demand for expertise and the evident knowledge deficit among the general horse-owning population.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Horse owners have substantial knowledge gaps about dental disease and treatment—this represents an opportunity for veterinarians to provide education and build trust through professional communication
- •Word-of-mouth is currently the primary information source for owners; creating accessible, reliable educational materials and leveraging professional networks could improve informed decision-making about dental care
- •Owners strongly prefer dental work to be performed by specialists; marketing your advanced training or referring to specialists can improve client satisfaction and outcomes
Key Findings
- •45% response rate (1,466 of 3,250 questionnaires) from Swiss horse owners regarding dental treatment preferences and information levels
- •More than 50% of horse owners reported feeling insufficiently informed about dental problems, their causes, consequences, and treatment methods
- •66.7% of dental treatments were performed by veterinarians with specialized dental education
- •Horse owners primarily received dental information through word-of-mouth recommendations and explicitly desired information from professional and reliable sources