ANIMAL DENTISTRY 



203 



horse. They are not the result of accidental dental develop- 

 ment but a constant normal part of the equine denture un- 

 dergoing degeneration under the influence of selection, as 

 the "wisdom teeth" of man are disappearing under the in- 

 lluence of civilization. The use of the bit through innumer- 

 abe generations appears to have rid the interdental space 

 of the premolars. 



Wolf teeth are constant in foetal life in both the inferior 

 and superior dentures, and many of them never develop to 

 the point of eruption, but instead degenerate, and become 

 incorporated with the maxilla. Those which finally erupt 

 vary from small homogeneous masses of soft dentine to well 



Fig. 142. 

 Wolf-Teeth. 



developed teeth possessing all the distinguishing character- 

 istics of the herbivorous molar. 



Symptoms — Wolf teeth are harmless with the exception 

 of their possible interference with the overcheck bit or com- 

 plicated coach-horse rigging, such as bridoons. They have 

 no effect upon the eyes, and are diagnosed solely by palpa- 

 tion. Their position is the interdental space of the upper 

 jaw, more or less closely related to the first molar. In some 

 instances they are located on the inner aspect of the molar 

 and occasionally on the lower jaw. 



Treatment — The wolf tooth should be extracted, as it 

 serves no useful purpose and may at some time interfere 



