Ancient Teeth Tell the History of Equine Dentistry

Researchers studied 3,000-year-old skeletal remains from Mongolia to understand the origins of veterinary dental practices.

Sukanya Charuchandra
| 3 min read

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ABOVE: A Mongolian herder removes this horse’s first premolars, or wolf teeth, using a screwdriver.
DIMITRI STASZEWSKI, TAYLOR ET AL. 2018, PNAS

Mongolian horse herders extract certain premolars, called wolf teeth, from the mouths of horses before the animals turn two years old, usually with the aid of a screwdriver. This form of equine dentistry makes wearing metal mouthpieces, or bits, a tad more comfortable for creatures whose long service to humans galvanized the spread of civilizations throughout history, aiding in trade, warfare, transport, and communication.

William Taylor, an archaeologist at the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History in Jena, Germany, was studying horse bones at the National Museum of Mongolia and carrying out his own excavations in the East Asian country when local researchers told him about this form of oral health care that modern-day Mongolian herders administer to their horses. Taylor wondered “how deep the ...

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Meet the Author

  • Sukanya Charuchandra

    Sukanya Charuchandra

    Originally from Mumbai, Sukanya Charuchandra is a freelance science writer based out of wherever her travels take her. She holds master’s degrees in Science Journalism and Biotechnology. You can read her work at sukanyacharuchandra.com.

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