Over-Floating in Equine Dentistry: Why Less is Often More

Somewhere along the way, “floating teeth” became code for “smooth them out.”

I see it all the time. Perfectly flat arcades, sharp enamel points completely removed, and the veterinarian walking away thinking they’ve done the right thing.

And to be fair, that’s how most of us were taught. It’s how I was trained, too.

But here’s the problem: over-floating in equine dentistry doesn’t just miss the mark – it can actively cause harm. Flattening the occlusal surface goes against the natural design of the hypsodont dentition.

It disrupts function, reduces chewing efficiency, and increases the risk of compensatory wear, ulcers, and even behavioural changes under saddle.

This isn’t about being aggressive or conservative. It’s about being precise. Because if we don’t understand how to float horse teeth properly – with anatomy and function in mind – we’re not doing the right thing by our patients.

So if you’ve ever questioned whether your odontoplasty technique is helping or hindering, this article is for you.

We’ll break down what healthy equine dental function actually looks like, why common floating mistakes are still happening, and how you can assess, float, and re-check with confidence.

Most Vets Float the Wrong Way – Here’s Why

Most equine veterinarians I meet around the world aren’t careless. They’re doing their best with what they were shown. And what many of us were shown in vet school or early practice was this: float the points down, smooth the occlusal surface, and move on.

But that thinking has consequences. Over-floating in equine dentistry isn’t just common, it’s routine. And most veterinarians don’t even realise they’re doing it.

The aim of odontoplasty was never to flatten the arcades. Yet that’s exactly what’s still happening in many practices – often with the best intentions.

The problem is that equine floating technique has never been consistently taught, let alone audited. You don’t get a radiograph or a blood panel telling you when you’ve done too much.

You only find out when the horse starts dropping weight, developing ulcers, or struggling to maintain performance.

That’s why this is so widespread. I’d estimate that more than 70% of practitioners are over-floating – removing too much occlusal surface, too often, in an attempt to “tidy up.” They’re not being reckless. They just haven’t been shown what good looks like.

And here’s the truth: if you’re removing more than enamel points, without a clear functional reason, you’re not correcting a problem – you’re creating one.

Every float should have a purpose. It should preserve arcades, not flatten them. It should support occlusal balance, not chase symmetry. And most of all, it should maintain function.

So ask yourself: are your floats functional – or just smooth?

Because those aren’t the same thing. And the horse knows the difference.

What the Horse’s Mouth is Actually Designed to Do

Equine cheek teeth aren’t flat by mistake.

They’re hypsodont – long-crowned teeth that erupt continuously throughout the horse’s life. This eruption isn’t random.

It’s part of a finely balanced system designed to maintain occlusal function and effective grinding, even in the face of constant wear. And it only works when we respect that balance.

When we talk about over-floating in equine dentistry, this is where things go wrong.

Those ridges we see during a dental exam? They’re not overgrowths to be filed down indiscriminately. They’re essential to the horse’s ability to break down fibrous feed.

They provide the occlusal relief and natural angles that allow the upper and lower arcades to shear against each other, like two interlocking blades. That’s how a horse is meant to chew.

But when those ridges are flattened – when the arcades are over-floated – we lose that function. We reduce surface area. We strip away essential structure. And we force the horse to change how it chews, just to get through a meal.

That’s when you start to see the compensations.

Rostral or caudal drift. Increased excursion. Feed packing. Periodontal changes. Soft tissue trauma. Ulcers. Weight loss. Changes in behaviour under saddle.

Hypsodont tooth function relies on preserving those occlusal angles, not erasing them. Every time we over-float, we interrupt a system that’s been working efficiently for millions of years.

So no, this doesn’t mean you ignore pathology. It means you stop treating normal anatomy as a problem to fix.

Because if we keep over-correcting what’s healthy, we’ll keep creating dysfunction where there was none.

The Risk of Over-Floating

Let’s be clear: over-floating in equine dentistry doesn’t just affect the tooth—it affects the whole horse.

At first, the consequences are subtle. Maybe mastication isn’t quite as efficient. Maybe there’s a little more feed pocketing than usual. A few ulcers here and there. But over time, the damage becomes obvious – horse teeth that were over floated start failing to do their job.

You’ll see weight loss in performance horses, drifting arcades, excessive dental wear, and behavioural changes that no saddle fitter or physio can fix. Why? Because the arcades have lost their structure, and the horse is compensating every time they chew.

Here’s what’s really happening:

• Reduced occlusal surface area limits the ability to grind feed efficiently.
• Loss of functional ridges decreases natural shearing capacity.
• Over-correction of height destabilises occlusion and changes jaw movement.
• Altered angulation leads to uneven wear and secondary malocclusions.
• Pain. Especially in working horses – shows up as tension, resistance, or evasion.

None of this is theoretical. It’s what happens when equine dental function is disrupted by a float that went too far.

And here’s the kicker: over-floating often creates a cycle of unnecessary intervention. You remove too much. The horse compensates. The wear pattern becomes abnormal. So you float again. And again. And again.

We see it in the field. We see it on cadaver arcades. We hear it from owners:

“Ever since that float, something’s been off.”

This isn’t a minor error, it’s a welfare issue. And it’s more common than we like to admit.

Which is why we need to move away from thinking about “how much” we float – and focus instead on why we’re floating in the first place.

When Less Floating Is Actually More

The best equine floating technique isn’t the one that removes the most. It’s the one that preserves balance, restores comfort, and leaves functional anatomy intact.

That often means doing less, but doing it with precision.

The goal of odontoplasty has never been to flatten teeth or chase symmetry across arcades. It’s to reduce pain, correct specific pathology, and maintain the tooth’s natural grinding surface.

In the context of over-floating in equine dentistry, that goal gets lost when we assume that more reduction equals better dentistry.

Here’s what good practice looks like:

• Sharp enamel points causing mucosal trauma? Reduce them.
• A rostral hook impacting molar contact? Address it, without reshaping the entire arcade.
• Occlusion within normal limits? Leave it alone.

You don’t have to fix what isn’t broken. And in many cases, trying to do so does more harm than good.

The mistake I see most often isn’t that veterinarians are under-treating—it’s that they don’t know when to stop. Floating becomes a reflex, not a response. We’re taught to “clean it up,” to “make it look neat.” But the most effective floats I’ve ever done were almost invisible to the untrained eye.

What matters is that the horse can eat, move, and perform comfortably. That the arcades are stable. That wear patterns are functional and not just symmetrical.

If you’re floating to make things flat, you’re not preserving occlusion. You’re removing it.

And that’s not dentistry. That’s damage control.

Getting Better at Floating: What to Learn, What to Stop

If you want to improve your dentistry, don’t start with gear, start with understanding.

The biggest improvements don’t come from buying a new powerfloat. They come from knowing how to float horse teeth properly, based on function, not habit.

That’s what separates corrective dentistry from cosmetic reduction. And it’s the only way to avoid the long-term damage that comes from over-floating in equine dentistry.

Here’s what I want you to focus on:

✅ What to Learn

• What normal occlusal angles and relief look like—and when they matter.
• How mandibular movement (especially excursion to molar contact) influences wear.
• When floating is necessary—and when no float is the right choice.
• How to interpret what you see when the horse eats, not just when it opens its mouth.

These are the foundations of a sound equine floating technique. Without them, every float is guesswork.

❌ What to Stop

• Chasing symmetry when it compromises function.
• Flattening arcades because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”
• Filing down ridges that are critical for mastication.
• Relying solely on feel, without any post-float evaluation.

If you’re not sure how your floats are holding up, start checking. Go back to three of your recent cases. Watch the horse eat. Re-check molar contact and balance. Ask yourself:

• Did I preserve functional grinding surfaces?
• Are the arcades stable and efficient?
• Did I float based on evidence, or just on instinct?

If your floats aren’t supporting function, they’re not helping the horse.

The good news? These are skills you can learn. And when you do, your dentistry gets lighter, faster, and far more effective.

Want to Fix This? Start Here

If you’ve made it this far, you already know over-floating in equine dentistry isn’t just common – it’s avoidable.

But it takes more than intention. It takes clarity, structured learning, and the confidence to know exactly what you’re correcting and why. That’s what real dentistry is: understanding function first, and only treating what needs treatment.

So if you’re ready to sharpen your skills, start here – with the modules that will change how you assess, diagnose, and float:

🔍 Start with These in Our Dentistry Program

Module 3 – Lecture 1: “The Equine Periodontium” with Dr. Jon Gieche
Learn how over-floating compromises periodontal support, and how to recognise subtle signs of instability before they become clinical problems.

Module 2 – Lecture 4: “Functional Occlusion” with Dr. Olivia James
Understand how proper occlusal contact works, what excursion should feel like, and how to float without disrupting natural chewing mechanics.

Module 5 – Clinical Cases & Float Reviews
Watch real-world examples of over-floated and correctly balanced arcades. These reviews show how to evaluate your own floats and improve your equine dental function assessments in practice.

If you want to learn how to float horse teeth properly, this is where to begin. Not with guesswork, but with a clear, evidence-based approach you can apply immediately.

And if you’re not ready for the full program yet, here’s a practical step:

Pick three recent floats.

• Re-check them.
• Watch the horse eat.
• Look at the occlusal angles.
• Ask yourself: Did I restore function, or remove it?

Once you start asking that question, your dentistry changes. For the better.

And when you’re ready for more support, we’ll be here.