Disorders of the Teeth. 127 



Treatment. — The only treatment is to remove the decayed 

 tooth. Animal dentistry has not as yet gone so far as to fill 

 and preserve decayed teeth. It has, indeed, been done, the 

 gutta percha filling being used ; and there are reasons why 

 in a young and valuable animal it would be far better than 

 extraction ; but to fill the teeth properly is a delicate task ; 

 and if done improperly, the result is worse than removal. 



The chief objection to extraction is that the corresponding 

 tooth of the opposite jaw increases in length and becomes an 

 object of serious annoyance. It must be periodically ex- 

 amined ever after, and when it encroaches beyond its neigh- 

 bors it must be rasped back to their level. 



6. Tooth Cough. 



Horses at four years old ar6 very subject to a distressing 

 paroxysmal cough. The animal will sometimes cough twenty 

 or thirty times without stopping. The sound of the cough 

 is loud, sonorous and prolonged. 



The cause of this cough is an irritation of the mouth, ex- 

 tending to the throat, brought on by the cutting of the sixth 

 molar tooth, which is the one standing last in the row, and 

 the replacement of the third temporary molar by its perma- 

 nent substitute, both of which occur at this age. 



With the cough there may be associated some diarrhoea, 

 indigestion and loss of condition from the difficulty in chew- 

 ing the food properly, and the irritation it consequently causes. 



Treatment. — This consists largely in careful dieting ; hay, 

 not much bran; grass, if in season. The mouth should be 

 washed in some cooling mixture, as : 



No. 85. Borax or alum, powdered, 1 oz. 



"Water, 1 pint. 



Internally, a moderate laxative should be given, if the 

 bowels are disordered, so as to cleanse them from the half 



