Incidence of dental lesions in a dairy herd

Abstract

The oral cavity of 64 milk cows was examined. They were confined in a free-stall, milked twice daily and fed with TMR- total mixed ration. A total of 16 Brown Swiss and 48 Holstein Friesian cattle with medium age of 48,1 months (from 28 to 108 months of age) were examined. The teeth of 38 cows (59,4%) were rasped and rinsed afterwards with 15 ml of gentian-violet at 1%. It has been found that 26 cows (40,6%) displayed no detectable alterations. The most commonly found alterations were premolar and molar oclusal surface wear, forming sharp edges in 37 animals (57,8 %). The wear occurred in 28,1% of the cases on the left and right superior premolar teeth, in 4,7% of the cases on the right inferior premolars and 6,3 % on the left inferior premolars. A total of 20,3 % of the right superior molars, 18,8% of the left superior, 9,4% of the right inferior and 7,8% of the left inferior molars showed sharp edges. Furthermore, it has been observed 4 (6,3%) cases of gingivitis, 4 (6,3%) cases of fracture of the incisors, 3 (4,7%) cases of half-moon shaped occlusive wear, 3 (4,7%) cases of labial wear of the incisors, 2 (3,2%) cases of deciduous teeth persistence, 1 (1,6%) case of oral mucosa ulceration, 1 (1,6%) case of excessive wear with pulpa exposure and fracture and 1 (1,6%) case of dental hypoplasia. It can be concluded that oral cavity examination is a valuable instrument to promote health and productivity in dairy herds.