{"id":5704,"date":"2024-12-18T18:32:25","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T18:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.skylarkvets.co.uk\/?p=5704"},"modified":"2025-02-03T16:41:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-03T16:41:10","slug":"dentistry-in-rabbits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/2024\/12\/18\/dentistry-in-rabbits\/","title":{"rendered":"Dentistry for rabbits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Rabbits are hypselodont.\u00a0 This <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">term is used to describe teeth with short roots and very long crowns.\u00a0 Often animals with these teeth experience continual eruption of the teeth throughout their lifetime, with teeth continuing to grow from a single root.\u00a0 Many of the carnivorous mammals have teeth similar to our own: one set of deciduous (milk) teeth is present in infancy, then a single set of teeth is present during adulthood. These teeth are permanent and once they have grown into place, they do not grow any more.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of the smaller mammals, particularly the hind-gut fermenters such as rabbits, guinea-pigs, degus and chinchillas, have a very different system of dental growth.\u00a0 In these species, the teeth grow continuously throughout the life of the animal.\u00a0 It is essential that the teeth continue to be worn down by the rough fibres in the diet so that the natural wearing (occlusal) surfaces of the teeth continue to align correctly.\u00a0 In the wild, the natural diet of these species ensures that the teeth are always worn, but in captivity or as domestic pets, it can be more challenging to provide the correct diet and environment to best promote dental health.\u00a0 If the teeth are not continually worn down, the jaws can become misaligned, teeth can grow into the soft tissues of the mouth, or indeed through the jaw or into the eye sockets.\u00a0 These conditions cause extreme pain and can be severely detrimental to the health of the animal.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Diet and the importance of dental wear<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As mentioned above, species with hypselodont teeth require a rough diet to ensure adequate dental wear.\u00a0 In most cases, the diet should be almost exclusively comprised of grasses (or hay) and fibrous weeds.\u00a0 These animals may roam very large distances to find food, so exercise is also essential! The best way to mimic the natural world in our homes is to provide as large a space as possible for your small pet to roam in, and to hide food in a variety of places to encourage natural foraging behaviours.\u00a0 Gnawing is an essential part of the daily routine of these animals \u2013 especially for guinea-pigs and chinchillas whose teeth grow during periods of rest, so practical solutions must be found to provide opportunities in the home.\u00a0 Never allow your pet to gnaw on bars or metal meshwork because this can cause dental fractures that are not apparent.\u00a0 Never allow your pet to ingest wallpaper or furniture, which could be toxic or cause obstruction.\u00a0 Never allow your pet to gnaw on any wires that could result in electric shock.\u00a0 Ideally, gnawing materials should include hay provided <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ad libitum<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and natural woods such as branches from fruit trees.\u00a0 Treats may be hidden in wooden tubes to encourage gnawing, or hay may be tied up in knots to provide a rougher material for your pet to chew through.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Dental conditions<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is a wide range of dental disease within the small mammal populace.\u00a0 Broadly speaking, these can be divided into congenital (from birth) and acquired diseases (with the latter forming the majority of problems), and into incisor (the front teeth) and molar (the cheek teeth) problems.\u00a0 A brief overview of some of these problems can be found below.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Incisor abnormalities and treatments<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The incisors are the front two teeth at the top and the bottom of the jaws.\u00a0 Rabbits have two sets of upper incisors, with one smaller set (the \u2018peg\u2019 teeth) hidden behind the other larger set.\u00a0 Some common incisor conditions include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Congenital malformations such as a shortening of the upper jaw causing the lower incisors to grow out and up without hinderance \u2013 this is common in rabbits!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gingivitis and periodontitis<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Incisor malocclusion (misalignment of the incisors) secondary to a cheek tooth problem \u2013 very common in rabbits!<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Damage from incorrect burring or trimming \u2013 incisors should <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">never <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">be clipped because this can cause fractures or damage the germinal tissues, causing abnormal growth of the tooth.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Cheek tooth abnormalities<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By far and away the most common cheek tooth abnormality encountered in rabbits, guinea-pigs and chinchillas is malocclusion, where the surfaces of the teeth that are supposed to rub together (the occlusal surfaces) are misaligned so the teeth do not wear properly. This is normally found in patients over 3 years old and is frequently from incorrect dental wear as a result of a diet poor in rough fibres or in essential nutrients, but many factors are involved.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fractures of the cheek teeth (molars) are common in pets that chew on bars through boredom or lack of gnawing opportunities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tooth root abscesses may be primary or, more commonly, secondary to another dental condition.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>How malocclusion affects the teeth<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most herbivorous species that eat long fibres do not chew their food in the same way that carnivorous mammals do.\u00a0 Instead of using an up-and-down motion of the jaw, these species use a side-to-side action.\u00a0 Therefore, insufficient wearing of the occlusal surfaces of the teeth causes the teeth to become longer on one side as they curve around.\u00a0 This is usually the side next to the tongue for the lower teeth and the side nearest the cheek for the upper teeth, and the elongations are often referred to as \u2018spurs\u2019.\u00a0 Affected teeth cannot grow in their normal manner so can become pushed backwards, curved, displaced, or a mixture of all three.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When the teeth become elongated, the gap between the upper and lower gum lines is also extended, stretching the muscles of the jaw.\u00a0 When left for long periods of time, these muscles become permanently stretched and weakened.\u00a0 The increased pressure on the occlusal surfaces of the teeth because of the increased pressure exerted by an over-stretched jaw causes the direction of tooth growth to reverse.\u00a0 Therefore, lower cheek teeth will start to erupt through the lower jaw, whilst upper cheek teeth grow into the sinuses, tear ducts and into the eye sockets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The increased pressure on the occlusal surfaces also causes pain and inflammation of the centre of the tooth, the pulp.\u00a0 This in turn causes abscessation of the tooth root and weakens the tooth, making it more susceptible to fractures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Clinical signs (symptoms) of cheek tooth conditions<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Patients with dental conditions may find it painful to chew, so may chew on one side only. Unfortunately, this increases the abnormal growth on the affected side, elongating any fractures until the whole crown fractures.\u00a0 Spurs often develop on the teeth, although these frequently cannot be seen without the aid of anaesthesia \u2013 the shape of the jaw and the teeth makes it impossible to look at the back teeth without sedation.\u00a0 Affected patients may have cuts to their tongues or cheeks, although again this is not always obvious.\u00a0 The pain may cause them to grind their teeth or dribble more than usual, and they may have difficulty grooming so may present with a matted area of fur, or for no longer keeping themselves clean.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The abnormal tooth growth may also cause obstruction of the tear ducts, causing excessively watery eyes to develop or recurrent eye infections.\u00a0 In severe cases where a tooth root abscess grows into the eye socket, one eye may appear to bulge out from the face.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>How to prevent malocclusion<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The most common cause of tooth elongation is poor dental wear because of cereal based, high energy mixed foods being fed, particularly to indoor rabbits lacking constant access to highly fibrous gnawing materials.\u00a0 It is interesting to note that outdoor rabbits and guinea-pigs left grazing rarely have malocclusions!\u00a0 However, certain breeds are more likely to be affected than others, and environmental conditions are likely to be involved.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stress reduces the strength of the periodontal ligaments, which hold the teeth in their sockets.\u00a0 The quality of the ligaments and gums is also affected, with injury occurring more readily in stressed individuals.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best way to prevent malocclusion from occurring is to feed your pet a diet high in rough fibre.\u00a0 Gnawing materials should be made available at all times and should be of natural substances. Most rabbits, guinea-pigs and chinchillas do not need pellets or cereal feeds at all \u2013 they are designed to live on grass and weeds alone!\u00a0 If commercial diets are to be used, they should form no more than 20% of the diet, and ideally less than this: the usual rule is 25g food per 1kg pet (around 1 eggcup of food for every kilo your pet weighs) per day as an absolute maximum.\u00a0 However, in order to need this much energy supplementation in the UK, your pet would probably have to be outdoors in wintery conditions with little bedding for some time!\u00a0 Rabbits should be given as much space as possible to exercise, and should ideally forage for food \u2013 these things will help to reduce stress and increase dental strength.\u00a0 Predators should be kept away for the same reasons.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Diagnosis of dental disease<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dental problems can be difficult to diagnose because the structure of the mouths of these small patients obstructs clear vision, even with an otoscope.\u00a0 They are continual eaters, so the mouth is often full of food!\u00a0 Diagnosis is suspected from the clinical signs and the owner\u2019s description of the problem but cannot be confirmed without x-rays of the teeth and skull, including the sinuses and the eyes.\u00a0 Occasionally an ultrasound scan of an eye may also be required to ascertain whether a bulging eye has a dental origin.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><b>Treatment<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Any fractured teeth should be removed.\u00a0 The tooth opposite that tooth being removed will have nothing to wear against (unless a removed incisor grows back) so should be burred on a regular basis thereafter.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Abscesses should be treated by removing the tooth or teeth involved and exteriorizing the abscess.\u00a0 Facial surgery is frequently required to facilitate this, and an antibiotic course and or flushing solution will be required.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Regular burring of deformed teeth should be performed and removal considered.\u00a0 <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Teeth and spurs should never be clipped, but only burred with the correct equipment.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0 Clipping can cause fractures of the teeth and can affect the germinal layer, causing affected teeth to spiral or become deformed.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The overall length of the cheek teeth and incisors should be reduced where appropriate, and the normal architecture of the dental arcades restored.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The diet should be corrected.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stress factors should be removed.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In hypselodont species, such as rabbits, teeth grow continuously throughout the life of the animal so they need to be managed carefully.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5705,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[140,156,194,155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diets","category-husbandry","category-rabbits","category-smallmammals"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5704","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5704"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7244,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5704\/revisions\/7244"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5705"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.skylarkvets.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}