I "met" Dr. Tucker on my Twitter page (@AboutVetMed) and out of curiosity, visited his equine dentistry web site. I read his practice philosophy, summed up nicely here:
- My approach is calm with a seeking of balance and permission. I often say I have 2 strikes against me when I enter a stall: I am a man and a vet. I am not changing either!
This interview was conducted via email, our Twitter conversations (@EquinePractice), and video. Each question is featured here and each answer is (loosely) transcribed from Dr. Tucker's video response. At the end of each question, please visit the link to see the entire video response.
Question 1: When and why did you decide to focus on equine dentistry?
Answer: Back in 1983, I was in vet school at Cornell, and had a mentor who taught me everything I know about horses. One day he said "get over here, we're going to learn how to float teeth." The lesson started with a request: "put your hand in the horse's mouth." At this, I laughed and said "what are you, nuts? I am not going to stick my hand in a horse's mouth."
That began the lesson. It was on this day that Dr. Tucker learned a technique that he has been using for 26 years.
Dr. Tucker feels each tooth in the horse's mouth by hand to assess rough spots and cheek or tongue lesions caused by rough tooth edges. This is in contrast to many people who use just their eyes and a mirror or flashlight to view the horse's teeth. He feels that by feeling each tooth, he gets the most accurate information about the state of the horses mouth and teeth. He rarely uses any drugs in his patients.
Read More: What does "floating a horse's teeth" mean?
See Dr. Tucker's full video reply to this question
See Dr. Tucker's video series on how to float teeth
From the About.com Guide to Horses, Kathy Blocksdorf:
Definition of Float
Definition of Wolf Teeth
---> Question two
