Evaluation of ex vivo restoration of carious equine maxillary cheek teeth infundibulae following debridement with dental drills and Hedstrom files.
Authors: Horbal A, Reardon R J M, Liuti T, Dixon P M
Journal: Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
Summary
# Restoration of Carious Equine Cheek Teeth Infundibulae Infundibular caries represents a significant pathology in equine dentistry, yet optimal treatment protocols remain unclear. Horbal and colleagues conducted an ex vivo investigation using high and low-speed dental drills combined with Hedstrom files to debride carious material from 30 affected maxillary cheek tooth infundibulae, with restoration attempted using endodontic materials after chemical preparation with sodium hypochlorite and EDTA. The debridement technique successfully removed diseased tissue in 27 of 30 teeth (mean depth 19 mm, range 9.4–34.3 mm) as confirmed by computed tomography, though follow-up imaging and histological section revealed concerning gaps between the restoration material and infundibular walls in six teeth, and air voids within the restoration matrix in 21 of the remaining 24 cases. Whilst mechanical removal of carious infundibular tissue proved effective, the poor adaptation and void formation observed with current endodontic filling materials highlight a critical gap between debridement success and restoration durability—suggesting that practitioners should anticipate restoration failure with existing protocols and that development of equine-specific materials and application techniques represents a priority for improving long-term outcomes in infundibular disease management.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Mechanical debridement of infundibular caries using drills and files is effective, but current restorative materials and techniques leave significant gaps and voids that may compromise long-term outcomes
- •Practitioners should be aware that even when infundibulae appear adequately debrided, standard endodontic filling materials do not reliably achieve complete adaptation to infundibular anatomy
- •Better filling techniques and materials specifically designed for equine infundibular anatomy are needed before this treatment can be considered predictably successful in clinical practice
Key Findings
- •Dental drills and Hedstrom files successfully debrided 27/30 (90%) of carious equine maxillary cheek tooth infundibulae to a mean depth of 19mm
- •Six of 30 restored infundibulae (20%) had defects between restoration material and infundibular walls/apex despite debridement
- •Twenty-one of 24 successfully filled infundibulae (87.5%) contained air bubbles within restorations, indicating incomplete adaptation of filling materials