Occlusal fissures of the equine cheek tooth: prevalence, location and association with disease in 91 horses referred for dental investigation.
Authors: Ramzan P H L, Palmer L
Journal: Equine veterinary journal
Summary
# Occlusal Fissures of Equine Cheek Teeth: A Common Finding Without Clear Clinical Significance Ramzan and Palmer reviewed endoscopic dental examinations from 91 horses referred for investigation, documenting the prevalence and distribution of occlusal fissures across cheek teeth and assessing whether these fissures correlated with identifiable dental disease. Occlusal fissures proved remarkably common, affecting 58.2% of the study population across 227 individual teeth, with a marked predilection for mid-arcade locations and distinct site preferences depending on jaw position: maxillary fissures clustered around the caudal palatal pulp horn (92.1%), whilst mandibular fissures predominantly involved buccal pulp horns (95.7%). Despite this high prevalence, no significant correlation emerged between the presence or distribution of fissures and the primary sites of dental disease identified during clinical examination, nor did age or sex influence fissure development. For practitioners investigating cheek tooth pathology, these findings suggest that occlusal fissures should not be automatically attributed pathological significance or assumed to indicate compromised tooth integrity; their consistent anatomical relationships may instead reflect stress distribution patterns during mastication rather than active disease processes or risk factors for catastrophic fracture. The clinical challenge remains distinguishing incidental fissuring from pathologically significant defects that warrant intervention.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Do not assume that occlusal fissures in cheek teeth indicate tooth compromise or are causally related to dental disease—they are common incidental findings
- •Fissure location and direction are inconsistent with causing slab fractures in most cases, suggesting they may be a normal variation rather than pathological
- •When investigating dental problems in horses, look for other signs of disease rather than relying on fissure presence as a diagnostic indicator
Key Findings
- •Occlusal fissures were present in 58.2% (53/91) of horses referred for dental investigation, affecting 227 cheek teeth total
- •Maxillary fissures were predominantly associated with the caudal palatal pulp horn (92.1%), while mandibular fissures were associated with buccal pulp horns (95.7%)
- •No significant correlation was found between presence of occlusal fissures and the primary site of dental disease identified at examination
- •Mandibular teeth showed significantly more multiple occlusal fissures compared to maxillary teeth, with no correlation to age or gender