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Periodontal disease is a painful and highly prevalent disorder of horses that causes a significant welfare problem. Despite its importance, few scientific studies on its aetiopathogenesis have been performed. Equine periodontitis differs from the plaque-induced periodontitis found in brachydont species where bacteria accumulating in dental plaque induce a destructive inflammatory response in the periodontium. In contrast, equine periodontitis is usually initiated by entrapment of feed between cheek teeth, which causes inflammation of periodontal tissue that likely allows bacterial infection of the periodontal tissues that is later exacerbated by the host's response. Equine oral microbiology is a neglected field of research and identification of the bacteria involved in this disorder by use of molecular bacteriology and examination of the interaction between these bacteria and the equine oral immune response should reveal important information about the pathogenesis of this disease.

Equine periodontal disease is a common and painful condition and its severe form, periodontitis, can lead to tooth loss. Its aetiopathogenesis remains poorly understood despite recent increased awareness of this disorder amongst the veterinary profession. Bacteria have been found to be causative agents of the disease in other species, but current understanding of their role in equine periodontitis is extremely limited. The aim of this study was to use high-throughput sequencing to identify the microbiome associated with equine periodontitis and oral health. Subgingival plaque samples from 24 horses with periodontitis and gingival swabs from 24 orally healthy horses were collected. DNA was extracted from samples, the V3–V4 region of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene amplified by PCR and amplicons sequenced using Illumina MiSeq. Data processing was conducted using USEARCH and QIIME. Diversity analyses were performed with PAST v3.02. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) was used to determine differences between the groups. In total, 1308 OTUs were identified and classified into 356 genera or higher taxa. Microbial profiles at health differed significantly from periodontitis, both in their composition (p < 0.0001, F = 12.24; PERMANOVA) and in microbial diversity (p < 0.001; Mann–Whitney test). Samples from healthy horses were less diverse (1.78, SD 0.74; Shannon diversity index) and were dominated by the genera Gemella and Actinobacillus, while the periodontitis group samples showed higher diversity (3.16, SD 0.98) and were dominated by the genera Prevotella and Veillonella. It is concluded that the microbiomes associated with equine oral health and periodontitis are distinct, with the latter displaying greater microbial diversity.

P>Reasons for performing study: There is limited knowledge on the thickness of subocclusal secondary dentine in equine cheek teeth (CT). Hypotheses: Subocclusal secondary dentine is of consistent thickness above different pulp horns in individual horses and its thickness increases with age. Methods: 408 permanent CT were extracted post mortem from 17 horses aged 4-30 years, with no history of dental disease. The CT were sectioned longitudinally in the medio-lateral (bucco-palatal/lingual) plane through each pulp horn, and the thickness of the secondary dentine overlying each pulp horn was measured directly. Results: The subocclusal thickness of secondary dentine above the pulp horns of CT varied from a mean thickness (above all pulp horns) of 12.8 mm (range 5-33 mm) in a 4-year-old to 7.5 mm (range 2-24 mm) in a 16-year-old horse. There was wide variation in the depth of subocclusal secondary dentine above different pulp horns, even within the same CT. In contrast to expectations, occlusal secondary dentine thickness did not increase with age. There were no significant differences in occlusal secondary dentine thickness between rostral and caudal, or medial and lateral aspects of the CT, or between contralateral CT. Mandibular CT had significantly thicker subocclusal secondary dentine than maxillary CT. Pink coloured secondary dentine was sometimes found 1-3 mm occlusal to the pulp horn in sectioned CT and this was likely caused by artefactual blood staining from the underlying pulp during sectioning. Conclusions: The thickness of subocclusal secondary dentine varies greatly between individual pulp horns, teeth and individual horses and can be as low as 2 mm over individual pulp horns. Potential relevance: Due to the great variation in the thickness of subocclusal secondary dentine between horses, and even between pulp horns in individual CT, there is a risk of exposure or thermal damage to pulp and thus of apical infection, even with modest therapeutic reductions of CT occlusal overgrowths. In the light of these findings, great care should be taken when reducing equine CT overgrowths and larger dental overgrowths should be reduced in stages.