A clinical survey investigating the dental disorders of jennies in China

Abstract

Recent clinical studies have documented a high prevalence of dental disorders in donkeys. However, there are few
studies about the same topic in China. A cross-sectional study was performed to investigate the prevalence of clinically
diagnosed dental disorders of donkeys in China. A total of 101 jennies which had never received any dental care were
examined for the presence of dental disorders under small-holder farm conditions. The prevalence of dental disorders
was analyzed by Chi‐square test or Fisher's exact correlation test. The strength of association was evaluated using
Cramer's V test. Jennies between 2 and 15 years of age were categorized into four age groups. The most common dental
disorders were sharp enamel points (100%), incisor diastemata (90.1%) and focal overgrowths (72.3%). Age was
moderately related to the presence of ventral convex curvatures, focal overgrowths, wave mouth and canine calculus
accumulation （P <0.05， 0.3 <Cramer's V <0.5） . The prevalence of shear mouth (P <0.01， Cramer's V> 0.5) was
significantly associated with age group. Common dental disorders were found in all groups and the prevalence was
higher in aged groups. This study indicated that donkeys should receive proper dental care to improve their welfare.