History
About Spencer Laflure
Spencer Laflure was born on a pack trip through the Adirondack Mountains of New York state. He grew up on his parents’ two dude ranches there and has had a lifetime of experiences with all kinds of horses. After a successful rodeo career, he started training horses, but decided he could help more horses through dentistry. Since then, he has been on a mission to provide the highest level of dental care to horses across the country.
In the first few years of his study and application, he relied on the research and development of others. Other than terminology, he found that most of the information did not fit the horse. He came to believe that "horse dentistry, when done with the horse in mind, must have its point of beginning with the front teeth." |
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The birth of Natural Balance Dentistry
Spencer’s research, that the natural length and angle of incisors and restored motion of the TMJ will maintain or increase muscle mass in the body of a horse, was proven in a study performed at Thousand Acres Dude Ranch in Stoney Creek, NY. 69.3% of horses gained topline and muscle mass. By maintaining a balanced dentition, young and old horses alike maintained and improved overall body mass. The research was quantified using terrestrial photogrammetry to perform measurements (variance of 5 microns -- less than the thickness of a human hair). This was the beginning of an understanding to how incisors affect the whole horse.
This research developed into the procedure he called Natural Balance Dentistry™. He has had tremendous success with this procedure, and as he puts it, “I haven’t had a horse yet that it hasn’t worked on with fantastic results!”
After years in the making, Spencer introduced to the public the first DVD of its kind entitled “Horseman’s Guide to Natural Balance Dentistry™”. It shows, in terms the average horse owner can relate to, how balancing a horse’s mouth will balance its body and enable its performance to reach its highest potential! Also shown is a horse's jaw that he discovered in a Canadian museum that is over 12,000 years of age with perfect inclination and balance, reinforcing the theory that the eruption and wear of a horse’s incisors is critical to balance in its molar arcade occlusal surfaces as well as to the neurological function of its body.
Spencer specializes in bite realignment, restoring the proper biomechanics of the jaw, and restoring centric relation to the TMJ. Addressing the inclination of the incisors first allows him to make profound changes throughout a horse’s body. "A balanced mouth is much more than about how the horse eats — it’s about proper neurological function, something most had not come to realize before neuromuscular dentistry. I’ve been studying horse dentistry for two decades and am still learning something new every day.”
After years in the making, Spencer introduced to the public the first DVD of its kind entitled “Horseman’s Guide to Natural Balance Dentistry™”. It shows, in terms the average horse owner can relate to, how balancing a horse’s mouth will balance its body and enable its performance to reach its highest potential! Also shown is a horse's jaw that he discovered in a Canadian museum that is over 12,000 years of age with perfect inclination and balance, reinforcing the theory that the eruption and wear of a horse’s incisors is critical to balance in its molar arcade occlusal surfaces as well as to the neurological function of its body.
Spencer specializes in bite realignment, restoring the proper biomechanics of the jaw, and restoring centric relation to the TMJ. Addressing the inclination of the incisors first allows him to make profound changes throughout a horse’s body. "A balanced mouth is much more than about how the horse eats — it’s about proper neurological function, something most had not come to realize before neuromuscular dentistry. I’ve been studying horse dentistry for two decades and am still learning something new every day.”
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About the School
Spencer's goal is to educate horsemen and horsewomen on the importance of balanced dentistry, no matter what discipline they are in. He has worked on horses owned by such top horse handlers as Ron Willis, Tom Curtin, Mark Rashid, Leslie Desmond, Leon Harrold and Jonathan Fields, to name a few.
In 2002, he founded the Advanced Whole Horse Dentistry Center, now known as the Center for Natural Balance Horse Dentistry, where he directs a growing team of dentistry professionals. This team is becoming a leader in dentistry research and development for the equine world, and in the promotion of whole horse health. |
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Make sure to ask for an up to date card before hiring a Natural Balance dentist to work on your horses. The card assures that the dentist is fully certified and is keeping up with continuing education.
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