Teeth Problems, help.

Hi all

Bugsy is just over a year old and goes to the vet regularly to have his front teeth burred. Five weeks ao, for the first time, he had to be anesthetised and had his back teeth filed down, spurs had grown which were digging into his tongue.

He went back to the vet last week to have his front teeth done and the spurs have grown back already. The vet says it is a common problem for domestic rabbits but is concerned that the re-growth of the spurs has happened so quickly with Bugsy. The vet does not recommend sedation to file down the spurs on such a regular basis (every 5/6 weeks) and instead thinks it would be kinder to have him put to sleep. Bugsy is going in tomorrow to have the spurs removed again and I'm crossing my fingers that a radical change to his diet may help slow down the regrowth.

He prefers spring greens, apples, pellets and cat biscuits (I don't feed cat biscuits to him he use to steal them until I cracked onto it and moved them out of his reach but I suspect it's been going on for a while) to hay, which he ignores for as long as possible. I'm hoping that restricting him to hay and grass will make a big difference to the problem.

To be honest I'm at a loss as to what to do. I've never owned a rabbit before so I dont know if the re growth can be contained sufficiently to give him the quality of life he deserves or if it would be better putting him to sleep. He's obviously distressed because he wants to eat but can't and the last think I want is for him to be going through this.

If anyone has had similar problems or can offer advice it would be much appreciated.

Thank you.

Having his incisors removed may help the occlusion of his molars and therefore increase the length of time it takes for spurs to develope on his molars.

I certainly would not consider PTS without attempting this first.

I agree with Jane, also a diet as high in fibre as possible will help to control spur regrowth a little - well it does with both of my buns whom both have spurs, and neither have needed them burring yet. I feed a diet of purely hay, grass and veggies, nothing else. I would recommend a tough hay rich in Timothy grass.

There are also certain techniques for burring molars - one of the leading rabbit dentists, David Crossley, talks about actual reshaping of the molar - as opposed to just burring off the spurs, in the hopes of changing the mechanics of the jaw in the long-term and adjusting the bite - which can help to control spur regrowth better. This is the link:
http://www.vetdent.eu/downloads/dent-rab-tooth-elong.pdf which might give you some pointers for discussion with your vet. I think if your vet is unwilling to consider anything but pts then you would be wise to seek a second opinion from another vet if you feel you are not ready for this. Good luck for you and your little bunny

http://www.willowwarren.co.uk/index.asp
http://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/
The best way to get a bun to eat more hay is to offer a good quality hay and to restrict access to pellets.

Aww poor Bugsy. I can't believe the vet suggested that. Gregory had the exact same problem about a year ago. After a few months of having his front teeth burred and a coupel of back teeth filing under anaesthetic, my vet and I decided to remove his incisors.

He's like a new bunny now, and eats hay again, which he hadn't done for a long time! This means his back teeth are now wearing down naturally again. I would definitely recommend trying this!

Is he having metacam for the pain at the minute? If not, ask the vet for some. Good luck, keep us updated!