Complications of Dental Extractions are commonly encountered in both first opinion, referral and dental equine practice. These complications can occur pre-, intra-, or post- exodontia and are many in number. The incidence and severity of post-extraction complications is greatly influenced by the exodontia technique used and the skill and experience of the surgeon (Dixon, 2022). The published data shows that there are high levels of complications associated with repulsion techniques and buccotomy versus the low levels of complications recorded with simple oral extraction (Dixion, 2022). Unfortunately, not every extraction is suitable for simple oral extraction, as crown fracture is unavoidable in some cases, particularly those with pre-existing fracture(s) or endodontic disease (Dixon & Reardon, 2021).

1. Pre-extraction complications include but are not limited to:
• Administration of drugs
• Chemical restraint
• Medication errors (Dechant, 2021)
• Catheterisation
• Poor patient temperament
• Poor environment / physical restraint
• Complications associated with Loco-Regional Anaesthesia
• Complications associated with instrumentation and facilities
• Complications associated with induction of General Anaesthesia

2. Intra-extraction complications include but are not limited to:
• Poor patient compliance
• Poor CRI protocols
• Poor environment / physical restraint
• Complications associated with Loco-Regional Anaesthesia
• Complications associated with instrumentation and facilities
• Complications associated with maintenance of General Anaesthesia
• Intraoperative haemorrhage
• Damage to adjacent structures (Dixon & Reardon, 2021)
• Fracture of teeth during extraction (Dixon & Reardon, 2021)
• Fractures of the surrounding alveolus and supporting bones
• Impacted/elongated teeth
• Fistulation (oro-cutaneous, oro-nasal or oro-sinal)

3. Post-extraction complications include but are not limited to:
• Alveolar sequestrations
• Retained dental fragments
• Facial/jaw swellings
• Sinusitis
• Alveolar infection
• Osteomyelitis
• Fistulation
• Neuropraxia • Complications associated with recovery from General Anaesthesia
• Overgrowth of opposing Cheek Teeth
• Dental eruption and drift (Townsend et al., 2008; Vlaminck et al., 2008)
• Post extraction ‘diastema’ (Kennedy et al., 2020)
• Suturitis or Suture exostosis

Complications are thankfully infrequent with horse owners in a recent study reporting an absence of any post-extraction problems following extraction in 75.2% of horses (Kennedy et al. (2020). In the remaining 24.8% of cases, complications took a median of 21 (3-120) days to become ‘fully better’ (Kennedy et al., 2020). This shows that post-extraction complications usually resolve given time and effort. However, the costs of treating some of these post-extraction complications can exceed the initial costs of the procedure, and owners should be counselled regarding these costs prior to the procedure being undertaken (Dixon, 2022). 

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