Influence of oral health on the facial expressions and on the acupuncture examination in equines

Abstract

The present study investigated the influence of oral health on horses’ facial expression, reactivity of the acupuncture points and the perception of trainers and owners. We investigated 87 adult horses involved in sports or working activities. Pain was scored in person and by photography by an evaluator “blinded” to the animals’ dental condition, using the Horse Grimace Scale (HGS). The acupuncture examination was performed by the same evaluator. Animals were evaluated before (T0) and 15 days (T1) after dental treatment. All horses included in the study had dental disorders. Statistically significant results were seen in median HGS scoring (3 vs. 1, p = 0.001) and number of reactive acupoints (11.2±5.6 vs. 4±2.9, p = 0.001). Additionally, complaints by the trainers/owners were lower at T1 compared with T0. There was a reduction in the pain reaction to application of pressure on following acupoints: dental point (44 vs. 4), Stomach-7 (31 vs. 3), Tiple-Heater (TH)-17 (27 vs. 4), and TH-16 (22 vs. 4). We concluded that acupuncture can be an adjunct method for diagnosis of dental disorders and treatment follow-up.