The speculum used in equine dentistry is also often referred to as a gag. It is an essential piece of kit for the equine dental technician and its purpose is to mechanically hold the horse’s mouth open to enable the equine dental technician or veterinary surgeon to work on the horses teeth safely without risk of the horse closing their mouth and getting bitten. By holding the horse’s mouth open the equine dental technician can get a clear view of the horse’s mouth and see the teeth all the way to the back enabling them to rasp the edges correctly.

There are various different types of equine dental speculum that are available to use. The most common are the millennium speculum and the hausmans speculum. The main difference between the two types is the size and number of ratchets to adjust the opening of the speculum. The Millenium speculum has a large number of ratchet grooves which are close together; this allows greater control over how far open the mouth is held. The Hausmans speculum has much fewer ratchet grooves but these are deeper; the Hausmans speculum is often considered easier to use and is the speculum of choice for newly qualified dentists. It is also usually cheaper in price than the Millenium speculum equivalent.

The speculum is a very heavy and potentially dangerous item, it is essential that once on the horse’s head you should keep hold of it at all times. If the horses shakes his head with the speculum attached it could easily injure the dental technician or the handler.

When equine dental technicians need to work on the front incisor teeth a speculum such as these could be in the way due to the action of the bite plates on the incisors. In these circumstances a mouth wedge can be used which would be inserted between the teeth to hold the mouth open enough to give a good view of the incisors.

To give an even better view into the horses mouth some equine dental technicians will use a head lamp which will shine up into the jaw. Another useful product is the magnetic speculum light which attaches to the bite plates of the speculum via a magnet. It has a battery pack which can either connect to the straps of the speculum or the equine dental technicians clothing. The small light sits in side the bite plates and takes up very little room whilst allowing a good view of the mouth.