Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

rachele · Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 12

i was just wondering....are there good prospects for equine dentistry in malaysia? if one were to pursue the course where would he be able to work? is there anywhere one can pursue this course? i need some enlightenment on this course....hopefully someone can advice me, maybe someone who's doing this. i'd really appreciate your views.

thank you so much in advance for the replies....

Dr HanMRCVS · Joined: 07 Jun 2006 Posts: 566 Location: Johor Bahru

i guess you have to qualify as a vet first and then branch out into veterinary dentistry where most probably you will be trained to perform complex dental procedure across species and understand their species differences.

there is not a single qualified (and recognized) veterinary dentist in this country yet. you could be first?

chinginy · Joined: 07 Nov 2006 Posts: 13

dear rachele,
There are some schools offering equine dentistry in USA, Australia and possibly UK. It is not an easy job as it involves quite a bit of strength. There are some equine dentists that come over to Malaysia ( mostly from Australia ) and do some work on the thoroughbred racehorses' teeth. In thoroughbred racing yards around the world, equine dentists ( not licensed veterinarians ) perform the routine dental work. Veterinarians will be asked to examine, diagnose and carry out dental work on difficult cases, sometimes with the help of the equine dentist. There are some equine dentists and veterinarians who are trained to use power tools ( electromechanical equipment ). Not many equine veterinarians will routinely perform "floating" the horses' teeth if an equine dentist ( basically a technician ) is available. There are exceptions however, for example, if you're in the California, then equine dental work is usually performed by a state licensed veterinarian. Perhaps you can try to get in touch with the equine veterinarians working in the turf clubs in Penang, Ipoh or Sungai Besi and have a feel of what is involved and know a little bit more about the prospect in Malaysia.

Dr csh · Joined: 21 Jan 2006 Posts: 427

Routine floating can be done by anybody but if you are not a veterinarian, you will need to collaborate with one so that they can administer the sedation for you in horses that will not tolerate floating.

I still use hand tools to float horses teeth but power tools are available if you are concerned about strength. Like any power tool, there is a possibility to do great harm if you don't know what you are doing so you probably want to be more careful when using power tools.

rachele · Joined: 26 Feb 2007 Posts: 12

thank you for the replies. well i came across this school in nz that is offering equine dentistry but the duration of the course is only 3 months. if i were to do the course, is it possible for me to practice here in m'sia? and another thing is 3 months enough to learn up everything there is to know about equine dentistry? im kinda interested to do this but im quite scared too as i dont know anyone else who's done this before....thank you for the advice.