Please...someone... tell me what to do

I have just had shiver back at the vets this morning for a check up on his teeth, 6 weeks after the 1st tooth op. I will try to explain this to the best as i understand it.
It's not just his front teeth which are a problem it's his back teeth too. Apparently the bottom teeth arnt too bad but the top ones grow outwards at an angle, so they do not meet bottom teeth. Vet said he can clip front teeth for £8 no problem but Shiv definitely needs an anaesthetic for the back ones roughly every 6 weeks for life at £75 an op.
He said i really need to think about whether this is fair on shiver, and myself.
He thinks he will only pick at mixed food as eating hay and pellets might be a problem for him, although i must stress he is not in any pain at the moment. He said this is a problem that will never go away and shiver will not have a long life whatever I decide to do.
Please someone help me with this, i'm so upset.

Once he has had the initial op his teeth should be comfortable so eating hay and pellets shouldn't be a problem. I have a rabbit who has a misaligned jaw on one side so although she has a high hay diet she still needs them clipped - although with this diet we have managed to reduce it from every 4 weeks to every 12. There is a vet near me who clips back teeth without anaesthetic, it might be worth asking around the vets in your area if there is a vet that specialises in this as it will save you the expense and your rabbit the anaesthetic each time.

Oh you poor thing, I can understand how upset you are.

I have no advice as far as the teeth go as our bunnies (touchwood) have had no problems.

I do believe tho that some experienced vets will treat the back teeth without a GA. Can your vet refer you to a vet that would do this.

I am sure someone will be along soon who can advise you better.
Thinking of you,
Vanessa xx

hey i was in your situation!, my floppy is 4 and about a year ago she had to have all of her insisors out.. cost me 320 euro. then one of her teeth (bottom front) grew back! now i just clip it, i give her porridge made with soya milk to make sure she getting enough food and i give her weetabix with soya milk too, about once a month i give her babyfood just to make sure she getting everything she needs, she eats grass still and dry food and she really happy, her back teeth had to be rasped down when she had her teeth removed but scince then she is fine......
Dont rush to PTS she cud be just fine!

Firstly.....some molar (very rarely minor incisor) teeth problems correct themselves after one or two treatments by the vet so dont write him off without giving him a chance.

Secondly....Incisoral maloclussion is the usual culprit for secondary molar maloclussion and spurring.

Have you considered having his incisors removed and his back teeth burred at the same time, then altering him onto a low pellet, high veg, high hay diet to encourage natural tooth wear? This would hpefully give him a fighting chance at getting a much longer gap between dental work.

Perhaps you could disscuss this with your vet.

Hi,

My Oliver starting having molar spurs that needing clipping more and more frequently. At one point we were going every month and he had to have an anaesthetic and it cost around £70.

At one point I saw a temp vet and she suggested that I put Oliver to sleep. I obviously declined to do so and said as long as Oliver recovered after each op and had a good standard of living in between each episode I was happy to keep going.

A few months later our main vet told us that it appears that the bottom teeth have stopped growing and hopfully the bottom ones will follow suit. We are now back to every 3 months... Oliver is now 8 years old.

I also have a couple of other buns that need frequent teeth ops caused by both spurs and misaligned teeth. They are also only causing problems every 3 months(ish). The ages range from 6 months to 5 years.

You can not predict how any rabbirs teeth will behave over several months or years.

I hope this has been of some help.

Sooz22 said:

Firstly.....some molar (very rarely minor incisor) teeth problems correct themselves after one or two treatments by the vet so dont write him off without giving him a chance.

Secondly....Incisoral maloclussion is the usual culprit for secondary molar maloclussion and spurring.

Have you considered having his incisors removed and his back teeth burred at the same time, then altering him onto a low pellet, high veg, high hay diet to encourage natural tooth wear? This would hpefully give him a fighting chance at getting a much longer gap between dental work.

Perhaps you could disscuss this with your vet.

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Agreed...

I have a rabbit who has to have his done every 8-11 weeks. We thought every six week at first but now I leave him a little longer if possible to save him going under so often. I have never had any problems from him i.e not eating, drooling or anything else associated with teeth related problems. I only discovered he had problems when he came to me to be fostered and I had him checked out at the vets. He has always maintained a good weight despite now having some molars missing and the rest growing incorrectly. He never shows any distress after or before having the procedure done and always bounces back immediately. I do worry that I am putting him through a lot but he has a very happy life and seem happy. If I thought he was suffering I wouldn't do it to him.

My old rabbit Charlie also had a jaw that was severely offset and had to have dentals every four weeks.

Many rabbits undergo anaesthetics that often and manage just fine, I think it depends on the bunny. However, financially I don't know what position you are in so that is something you need to work out for yourself.
I would certainly ring around different vets though for 2nd opinions and prices. I have regular dental work done at my vets and it's not been over 55.....sometimes as low as 35 for a GA and burring of spurs. Depends on what your vets charge and the amount of work that needs doing

Blimey mine has just gone up to £90 a time....the cheapest was £60 and the most expensive £120 :shock::shock::shock:

Thanks everyone, I certainly wont 'write him off' I am going to ring round other vets today to see if they can offer anything else. My vet will not consider doing it without anaesthetic, not the way shiver struggles when he's looking in his mouth. (something about a circular grinder?:shock
I know money should never be an issue, but as a working single parent money is always an issue. I always do my very best for shiver, and it wont stop now. I will find a way to keep this little man, he has a fantastic life here with us and could want for nothing. Apart from fantastic teeth!

My Willow is a serious dental bunny. He has extremely mis-aligned molars which means heneeds a dental every month. I have a very good vet who clips them conscious. He has been seeing her for about 18 months now is vry used to the procedure. I usually pay a standard consultation fee - about £28

I would advise you to look for a vet who is willing to perform the dental without GA and ask them for an opinion on your bun. In terms of feeding I would suggest using a pellet food rather than a mix. I give Willow Science Selective, he has it soaked as he struggles if it;'s hard. Willow isn't a big hay eater but I was advised to give kale and leafy greens regularly to help his teeth.

I wouldn't pts yet. I think vets suggest this too quickly for dental bunnies. Willow is such a happy, spirited bun and I want to give him every opportunity to have a good life - if his quality of life seriously deteriorated then I would be forced to consider the options, until then I continue with the dentals.

Maybe someone on here could suggest a vet for the dentals without GA or if you contact your local rescue you could give you some advice.

So should i 'be cruel to be kind' and take away the mix and replace with hay (that he normally only sleeps and poo's on) and pellets and soak them etc and when he's hungry he'll eat them or what? (feel a meanie just suggesting it!) Also will i get the best stuff in local pet shop or not?

Sooz22 said:

Blimey mine has just gone up to £90 a time....the cheapest was £60 and the most expensive £120 :shock::shock::shock:

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Wow :shock:

I don't think I could afford it if it went up to that much!!! I did try a different vet once and they charged me 55 for a few spurs to be removed...my usual vet charges me 35-40 for the same thing on the same bunny. My other rabbit had to have two molars removed and the whole left arcade burred down and that was 55...I paid 50 last time he went too.

When Charlie was alive her initial dental cost 120 but that was because we needed x-rays and the damage was extensive (her previous vet had broken her jaw and wouldn't admit there was anything wrong with her so by the time it was discovered heck of a lot of damage had been done) after that her dentals were around 50.

My vets are generally quite good with their prices. I had my doe spayed two weeks ago and it was 45 which I was really surprised at because they usually charge more!! maybe it's because I am there so often that they charge me less :lol::lol:

However I took my dog there last week as he had ripped his claw out but left a little bit in...it was 80 quid to have him sedated and it removed...I wasn't best pleased at that :roll:

The worst part is I have 4 dental bunnies, though one has had his incisors removed and they have not grown back so he is trouble free, with his teeth at least :?

I do not personally believe that a molar dental without a GA is either sensible, safe or thorough and due to it not being thorough it also means that it needs doing more frequently because things like crown height cannot be easily adjusted on a conscious rabbit.

The dental burr is essentially a high speed grinder and as such has the potential to do serious soft tisue damage. If I remember correctly there are also two major veins running through the inside of the cheeks which can be nicked. If Shiver tends to struggle this is definately not a good idea for him, there is no safety guard for internal work as there is for incisors.

Is your rabbit one muesli or a pellet?

I have three dental buns too, despite their diet being excellent :roll:

I wouldn't be comfortable having any oral procedure done whilst the rabbit was conscious. Do they give them a mild sedative??

mistipop said:

So should i 'be cruel to be kind' and take away the mix and replace with hay (that he normally only sleeps and poo's on) and pellets and soak them etc and when he's hungry he'll eat them or what? (feel a meanie just suggesting it!) Also will i get the best stuff in local pet shop or not?

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If you feed the mix they tend to select the best bits. Pellets help the grinding action which is necessary. If you change to a pellet food then introduce it gradually and gradually reduce the mix at the same time. SS is very good and they do love it. i wouldn't soak the pellets unless it's really necessary. You could try some different types of hay to get him eating more. How much mix do you feed? My buns have half a bowl at night and that's it. They have plenty hay throughout the day and fresh greens in the morning. Does he eat grass? If they don't get out onto the grass I usually go out with the scissors and cut them some. Grass also helps with grinding action that a bun needs.

He is on museli, which he picks through. I know now that this isnt the best for rabbits but he was from a pet shop 18 months ago and it is all he has known. He just wont eat hay. I buy it, keep trying it, then after a few weeks bin it as i think it'll be passed its best. it's a vicious circle i think

Suzanne said:

If you feed the mix they tend to select the best bits. Pellets help the grinding action which is necessary. If you change to a pellet food then introduce it gradually and gradually reduce the mix at the same time. SS is very good and they do love it. i wouldn't soak the pellets unless it's really necessary. You could try some different types of hay to get him eating more. How much mix do you feed? My buns have half a bowl at night and that's it. They have plenty hay throughout the day and fresh greens in the morning. Does he eat grass? If they don't get out onto the grass I usually go out with the scissors and cut them some. Grass also helps with grinding action that a bun needs.

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SS (?) Is that the science selective? where do you buy this from?

I buy the selective food for my bunny and he loves it, and it means he;s getting all the necessary nutrients. Here's the link to purchase it 9they got different sizes)

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1964

My house bunny only eats 11 grams of dry pelleted food a day! I have her nearly totally on a hay and greens diet with plenty of herbs too. This means she has loads of high fibre food to wear her teeth down. However, this will be difficult if your bunny does not eat hay, try high fibre dry herbs instead..lots of companies sell these now.

christelle said:

I buy the selective food for my bunny and he loves it, and it means he;s getting all the necessary nutrients. Here's the link to purchase it 9they got different sizes)

http://www.vetuk.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1964

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Thanks for this link. Can you only buy ot online does anyone know?