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Molar problems

S

scatter

Alpha Buck
I posted a few weeks ago when one of my bunnies - Sammy - had suspected pasturella. However, when I finally got to see my 'rabbit' vet, he said that he had a back left molar growing into the roof of his mouth - it had caused a horrible ulcer and obviously put Sammy off his food. Last week he had a sedation and vet filed down back molars and said his upper teeth had stopped growing (he will be 8 this month). He is now back to normal thank goodness, running round, eating and happy. However, vet is worried that same problem will come back and we will be having to sedate him regularly, which obviously at his age is a bit of a worry.

Does anybody have experience of this - can back molars be completely taken out - how risky is it.

Any advice gratefully received.
 
Hi there Charlie is just the same. Had his first molar op 2 weeks ago and is fine now but the GA and atibiotics really knocked him for 6 this time and wasnt right for 3 days after it. Vet says it likely that he'll have to have them regularly :( But she suggested giving him thinsg litk apple branches to chew and lots and lots of hay to help in the meantime. STILL trying to get hold of them btu hoping they will help him out.
Havent thought about removing the molars - others may be bale to help with that but htink they can lead normal lives without them tho may need food chopped up in this case.

Is it just the one tooth that is the problem? If thats the case them maybe only one side need be affected with removing teeth? (have to take out opposing molars or else just creatign a problem)... :?
 
Thank you emjay.

I think it is two teeth - I will also try to get appropriate chews and get him grinding.
 
Molar removal is a difficult procedure due to the positioning of the teeth within the rabbits jaw, it is often necessary to break the jaw in order to remove the tooth and the opposing molar will need removing too, else it will have nothing to wear down against.

Also it is not unheard of for teeth to grow back if all the root of the affected tooth is not removed.

A good diet full of roughage to maximise time between dentals should be the way to go, you and your vet should asses the time needed between dentals and how manageable the problem is with a good diet before resorting to something as drastic as molar extraction.

What is his day to day diet?
 
I have posted a few links on here about my bunny who has molar problems. My vet has been doing a conscious dental approx every 4 weeks since August.

Last week we had problems after about 10 days as his very back molar has a spur on which had cut his tongue. The vet now wants to see him next week to give him a GA so he can get to the back teeth properly as there is only a limit to what he can do during a conscious dental. This looks like how things will be now, conscious ones regular and then every few months a GA. My bunny copes well with the conscious ones, however not all vets will do this.
 
Thanks. He has previously been having his front right incisor filed every four weeks - conscious. This was first time he had to be sedated as it was so badly burred.

His daily diet is rabbit mix, plus hay and some green veg.
 
Can I suggest moving him onto a pellet and lowering his pelleted feed to one handful a day to encourage him to eat more hay?

A pellet, whilst not as good as hay, has a better shape and consistency for dental wear.

Willow toys and fruit branches can also help to keep his teeth trim.

My vets will do conscious incisor burring but will not attempt it on molars unless the rabbit is sedated.
 
I wouldn't imagine an 8 year old rabbit's teeth are growing particularly fast.

Why does your vet say that it will be a regular problem now, when I presume it hasn't been a problem in the past?

The only way I can see it suddenly becoming a problem is if he's recently had an accident which knocked the teeth out of allignment, or degenerative dental disease with osteoporosis or osteomylitis of the jaw bone.

A few of my older rabbits have had the occasional molar burr, every couple of years or so, just to file off any sharp edges.

Just keep a close eye on him, especially his appitite, and hope that it's a loooong time until his next dental :D

Amy
 
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