Original ResearchA Clinical Survey Evaluating the Prevalence of Incisor Disorders in Zamorano-Leonés and Mirandês Donkeys (Equus asinus)
Introduction
There are about 44 million donkeys worldwide, mostly working animals in developing countries [1]. Some European local breeds are considered endangered because of the low number of individuals registered in the official studbooks [1]. Small populations tend to increase the level of inbreeding, loss of genetic variability, and accumulation of deleterious recessive alleles, developing pathological situations [2], some of them teeth related.
Previous studies have demonstrated that donkeys are very stoic animals, and a high number of animals suffer from asymptomatic dental and oral disorders [3], [4]. A similar situation can also be observed in horses, although they are less stoic [5], [6]. Although, Incisors are very sensitive to dental disorders, and even minor problems can cause discomfort and pain [7].
Recent clinical and postmortem studies documented a high prevalence of dental disorders in donkeys [3], [8], [9], but less information appears to be available specifically about incisor disorders, and no studies regarding orodental disorders were ever performed in Zamorano-Leonés and Mirandês breeds.
Section snippets
Materials and Methods
A study to investigate the prevalence of clinically diagnosed oral and dental disorders in donkeys was performed, based on a complete clinical, oral, and dental examination, under field conditions, to 800 unsedated donkeys belonging to two endangered local breeds: the Mirandês donkey from the Northeast of Portugal (n = 400) and the Zamorano-Leonés donkey from Zamora Province in Spain (n = 400), in 86 villages inside their geographic area of distribution. Donkeys selected for this clinical
Dental Disorders
Of the 800 donkeys examined, 26% (208 of 800) had no gross signs of dental and oral disease in the incisors and surrounding soft tissues, with 74% (592 of 800) suffering from incisor disorders. A total of 95.5% of the animals were examined for the first time, and 91.6% of the 347 owners involved reporting no previous knowledge about equine dentistry and no history of oral and dental disorders, not even in the incisor teeth, which in theory are easier to access [23]. No statistically significant
Discussion
The prevalence of dental disease reported in donkey's incisor teeth was 74%, a much higher prevalence when compared to other studies involving incisor teeth in equids, with incisors disorders ranging from 11%-26 % [23], [26], [27]. All donkeys presenting incisor disorders received free treatment, and all cases requiring follow-up were properly monitored.
CA significantly increased the high prevalence recorded. However, there was no statistically significant association between age groups and CA,
Conclusions
This study appears to be the first one to report specific incisor disorders in donkeys, particularly in endangered breeds. Healthy incisors are of major importance when pasture is one of the main sources of food for donkeys like those involved in this study. A detailed examination of the incisors is crucial before use of a speculum in equids, considering that all pressure will be held in these teeth, and incisor occlusal problems will interfere with its correct use.
In conclusion, incisor
Acknowledgments
Authors acknowledge support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) to João Brandão Rodrigues, PhD (SFRH/BD/43735/2008). None of the authors has a financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence or bias the content of the paper.
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