Rate of dental setting in dales ponies

[Debbie]

Sorry about the awkward title. I wondered, if Dales ponies were slower to mature than a normal horse, do their teeth mature and set in place at a slower rate as well?

I've never really paid much attention to the teeth, only to note that the baby teeth shed between the 2-3 years. Blossom's baby teeth seem to have shed at a much, much slower rate going from the time she was 2 up until, well with her recent vet visit, she does indeed have a healthy, but retained baby tooth in her upper front row.

So, is she simply going to have an extra tooth there for life, or will it attempt to shed out at some point? As far as I'm concerned its a miracle its 1.still there 2. still very much alive and properly coloured.

[valerie n scout]

oh I don't know Debbie, is it bothering her...making her mouth sore etc....doesn't sound like it should be there anymore X

[Debbie]

Its not bothering her mouth, I can't see any sore bits on her inner lip, so its not rubbing. It certainly hasn't slowed her eating any. I'm just concerned about a baby tooth being there. Yes, its possible it could enjoy a long life, but I worry about a potential impaction or absess of a root to a nearby tooth, or to the babytooth itself.

The reason I was asking about the jawbones itself is that I know the teeth solidify in their sockets at different times. In Oogway his lower teeth were solid, but his uppers were still floating about a bit, which is why we delayed having his canines removed until he was roughly 8 months. It was so much harder for the vet to remove the teeth with the developed roots, but I wanted to give the other teeth a chance to solidify in their sockets to prevent them from moving about so much.

In Blossom's case, I'm almost wondering the opposite, if I might still have a tiny window of time left to possibly correct this baby tooth being in there. Its very solid, however, almost like a fully rooted adult tooth, so I'm not sure what to think of it all?

Mouthwise her mouth looks almost completely normal, she just has this baby tooth wedged in there beside the adult tooth. I suppose I can do as the vet suggests and leave well enough alone and hope the baby tooth remains a permanent tooth the rest of her life?