Influence of oral health on the facial expressions and on the acupuncture examination in equines

ABSTRACT The present study investigated the influence of oral health on horses’ facial expression, reactivity acupuncture points and perception trainers owners. We 87 adult horses involved in sports or working activities. Pain was scored person by photography an evaluator “blinded” to animals’ dental condition, using Horse Grimace Scale (HGS). examination performed same evaluator. Animals were evaluated before (T0) 15 days (T1) after treatment. All included had disorders. Statistically significant results seen median HGS scoring (3 vs. 1, p = 0.001) number reactive acupoints (11.2±5.6 4±2.9, 0.001). Additionally, complaints trainers/owners lower at T1 compared with T0. There a reduction pain reaction application pressure following acupoints: point (44 4), Stomach-7 (31 3), Tiple-Heater (TH)-17 (27 TH-16 (22 4). concluded that can be adjunct method for diagnosis disorders treatment follow-up.