Equine dentist or vet?

[Bob & Amber Roberts <mlaboure@flash.net>]

We took our horses to an equine dentist today and are now wondering
whether or not this is really necessary.  It is extremely expensive
compared to having the vet float teeth.  We want to do what is best for
our horses so that they will live a long, healthy life.  We used the
equine dentist for the first time last year.  Had never heard of this
method before then.  One horse had quite a lot of work done then, so I
had assumed this time would be some normal maintenance.  Well, the bill
was $105 for this one horse plus a separate bill from the vet for
tranquilization.  If any of you have used an equine vet for several
years, does the cost ever get reasonable or is it pretty expensive every
year?  Do you feel you get that much better a job from the dentist as
compared to a vet just floating?

Amber