Calum gives an in-depth explanation into looking after your rabbit’s teeth
The month of February is ‘dental month', so at Apex Vets we want to highlight a unique group of animals with unique teeth!
Maintaining proper nutrition is important to prevent dental disease. Last month we covered nutrition in rabbits, and this can help guide you on what to feed your rabbit to prevent dental disease. We have some helpful fact sheets on our website to help with looking after your rabbit.
Rabbits are fast becoming more common family pets and as a result, we are seeing them more and more at the vets for routine health care. Part of this routine health care is their teeth. Rabbits, similar to rodents, have open-rooted teeth and this means their teeth continue to grow throughout their life! Left unchecked this can cause problems for the rabbit if they are not ground down to a suitable size and shape.
In nature, and at home, rabbits eat a lot of forage where the fibrous material wears down the tooth as quickly as it grows to keep them at a normal healthy level. In captivity, if a rabbit is fed an incorrect diet or develops a disease that affects the growth or eating habits of the rabbit, then the teeth can become elongated and malaligned leading to significant pain and disease.
Rabbits have 6 incisor teeth (the ones at the front), 6 premolars and molars on the top and 5 on the bottom jaw. The premolars and molars are difficult to differentiate so often get called the cheek teeth.
Causes of dental disease?
The causes of dental disease in rabbits can be split into two categories; congenital (born with) or acquired (obtained later in life).
Common congenital causes include diseases and conditions that affect the formation of the jaw or the alignment of the teeth. If the incisors are malaligned then this can cause the cheek teeth to also be out of line and not wear down properly leading to the development of sharp edges. The same is true if a cheek tooth is mispositioned, this can cause the other cheek teeth to also be out of line while they grow, again causing sharp edges to form.
Common acquired causes include trauma, underlying systemic disease, neoplasia, and improper nutrition. Common traumatic causes include jaw fractures and broken teeth can affect the jaw stability and the alignment of the teeth. Systemic illness that causes any change in a rabbits eating habits can impact their teeth. Neoplasia of the jaw or face can alter the positioning of the teeth or affect eating habits. Improper nutrition is the main cause of dental disease due to improper wear of the teeth leading to worsening of dental disease.
Signs of dental disease
Common symptoms of dental disease in rabbits include;
- Reduction or changes in appetite
- Excessive drooling
- Nasal discharge
- Matting on legs following excessive grooming due to drooling
- Epiphora is the production of excessive tears that don't drain away due to occlusion of the tear ducts
- Facial swellings or masses
- Bruxism, also known as tooth grinding
Diagnosis and investigations
If you are concerned about your rabbits' teeth then your vet will initially start by giving your rabbit a full clinical exam and focus on the teeth. They will use a scope to look deeper into the mouth and assess the teeth in more detail.
Rabbit mouths are very small, and it can be difficult to visualise every detail in a conscious, wriggly rabbit. Because of this it is recommended to sedate and take x-rays of your rabbit's head to assess the roots of the teeth to determine the extent of the dental disease.
In some cases it may be necessary to use a CT scan to get a 3D image of the teeth to better understand the disease and plan the best treatment.
Treatment
Most dental diseases can be corrected by reducing the height of the crowns, this is done using a special dental burr for rabbits and is performed under general anaesthesia.
If extractions are required, this can be a challenging process and requires a lot of patience to loosen the periodontal ligament to facilitate removal of the tooth.
If there are abscesses present, then the associated tooth or teeth are often removed and regular flushing of the abscess is required.
Prevention
Regular check-ups are important to catch changes in the teeth and highlight any concerns. At Apex Vets, we have our Healthy Pets Club that includes an annual health check and vaccination with the vet and a check with the nurse 6 months later to catch any concerns you may have about your rabbit.