14 ANIMAL DENTISTRY. 



enamel points the principal work of the animal dentist. No 

 student of zoology will deny that the domestic herbivora, 

 especially the horse, suffers from frightful physical defects 

 that are inimical to their general health and usefulness. The 

 other defects and diseases, although frequently of serious 

 import, demand only a small share of the animal dentist's 

 attention because they are relatively rare. The porcine, 

 ovine, and bovine species do not sufifer to the same extent 

 as the domestic horse on account of their different occupa- 

 tion and short life. Except for breeding purposes these 

 genera seldom live beyond their maturity^ and even then 

 they are not submitted to the same artificial influences as the 

 horse. In the canine and feline species the anatomical con- 

 stitution of the teeth prevents projecting defects and their 

 short life precludes caries, so here again the animal dentist 

 meets only an occasional condition demanding attention. 

 It is evident, therefore, that animal dentistry naturally cen- 

 ters upon the horse, the commercial value of which depends 

 as much upon its utility as upon its general appearance. 

 And again, mastication and insalivation are two essential 

 digestive processes in herbivora, and of more relative impor- 

 tance than in carnivora and omnivora. The coarse amy- 

 laceous food of herbivora, especially the non-ruminating her- 

 bivora, requires immediate and perfect comminution and 

 incorporation with saliva to insure perfect gastric digestion 

 and subsequent absorption, while the artificially prepared 

 food of man may without special detriment be passed di- 

 rectly to the stomach with but little mastication. The same 

 may be said of the dog, the cat and the hog, all of which 

 consume their food without a semblance of persistent mas- 

 tication. 



Then again, animal dentistry must respect the horse's 

 mouth as the "seat of the bit" as well as the mechanism of 

 mastication. The manner in which the horse accepts the bit , 



