12/04/2025
The Tooth - Body Connection!
Don’t forget. Everything talks. ✨ 🐴 🦷
A dental is so much more than just floating sharp points! We must ensure occlusal balance and function of dentition is maximised. Horses with poor dental biomechanics often show a “domino effect” of systemic collapse. I hear often the term “my horse is still eating or my horse is a good weight so they don’t need their teeth done”. This is incorrect. A horse’s teeth continues to erupt from a reserve crown under the gumline. Generally when there’s a clinical problem which you can see it is a hard road to recovery or sometimes even irreversible.
60% of their digestion happens in the mouth so we must get it right and we owe it to our horses to invest in their health and future as they do so much for us. 🥰
🧠🦷 Mechanoreceptors, Cranial Nerves & the TMJ: How Oral Health Shapes Whole-Horse Biomechanics
When it comes to equine movement, we often start at the feet — but science tells us to start at the skull.
Why? Because inside the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), cheek teeth, incisors, and periodontal ligament, there are thousands of mechanoreceptors—specialized nerve endings that detect:
👉 Pressure
👉 Tooth contact
👉 Tension
👉 Jaw movement
These sensory signals don’t just go to one nerve — they’re processed by a complex network of cranial nerves, especially:
🔹 CN V (Trigeminal) – Facial sensation, mastication
🔹 CN VII (Facial) – Expression, tension around the lips and jaw
🔹 CN IX (Glossopharyngeal) – Swallowing, oral sensitivity
🔹 CN X (Vagus) – Autonomic regulation, gut-brain connection
🔹 CN XI (Accessory) – Neck and shoulder motor control
🔹 CN XII (Hypoglossal) – Tongue movement and posture
📡 These cranial nerves form the neurological bridge between oral function and full-body coordination. They regulate:
✅ Jaw and tongue control
✅ Head–neck–shoulder movement
✅ Postural reflexes
✅ Proprioception and balance
✅ Autonomic nervous system responses
🔍 But when there’s dental malocclusion (uneven incisors, overgrown cheek teeth) or periodontal disease (inflammation of the tissues anchoring the teeth), those mechanoreceptors send altered signals to the brain. This sensory distortion can lead to:
⚠️ TMJ tension and bracing
⚠️ Head tilting, poll tightness
⚠️ Asymmetrical movement
⚠️ Inconsistent rhythm or contact
⚠️ Digestive or behavioral changes
💡 The cranial nerve system doesn’t just control the face — it influences the entire postural and emotional state of the horse.
✨ When we restore oral balance, reduce periodontal inflammation, and support the clarity of cranial nerve signaling, we’re not just helping the mouth — we’re unlocking the horse’s full-body biomechanics.
This is where true transformation happens: through a multidisciplinary approach that connects dentistry, neurology, posture, and movement into one whole-horse picture. 💡🧠🐴
📚
1. Kunz et al. (2023) – TMJ biomechanics & occlusal dynamics
2. Cordes et al. (2012) – Periodontal ligament loading in chewing
3. D**g et al. (1993) – Periodontal mechanoreceptor response
4. Shoemaker (2001) – Dental-neurological biomechanics
5. Pöschke et al. (2017) – Gene expression in equine PDL
6. Gellman (2010) – The jaw’s role in posture
7. Staszyk et al. (2006) – Collagen structure of the PDL
8. Tanaka & Koolstra (2008) – TMJ function and cranial integration
9. Szulakowski et al. (2019) – Imaging healthy cheek teeth
10. Physio-Pedia – Anatomy and role of the cranial nerves
🧩 The mouth isn’t separate from the body — it informs and regulates it.
🔗 Join us at our next Whole Horse Workshop at Treworgan Farm to explore how structure influences function: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-horse-owners-guide-to-functional-anatomy-biomechanics-and-wellbeing-tickets-1303853142849?utm-campaign=social&utm-content=attendeeshare&utm-medium=discovery&utm-term=listing&utm-source=cp&aff=ebdsshcopyurl
