Only professionals with specific training and experience in equine dentistry should assess the masticatory system and equilibrate dentition, Moine cautioned. | Photo: Stephanie L. Church/The Horse

Performance dentistry refers to equine dental care that gives horses a more balanced mouth, with better tooth alignment, in addition to basic dental care. The idea is it makes the equine athlete perform better and easier to ride—a concept known as “rideability.”

For years, some professionals have claimed they see a marked improvement in rideability after performance dentistry. But science has yet to confirm this theory. That’s why Swiss researchers set out to test performance dentistry’s effects on the rideability of their country’s national stud horses.

To their surprise, they found no link between performance dentistry and rideability, said Sébastien Moine, MedVet, of the Swiss Institute of Equine Medicine Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the University of Bern and Agroscope, both in Bern