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What are my options for tooth root intrusion?

Sakura6267

Sakura6267

Warren Scout
I've been really worried since I found out that Yuki's back teeth are actually pushing through the bones and growing up into his skull. The ones on top looked dangerously close to the eye. I believe this is only happening on the left side, though I need to confirm that with the vet. The roots are already irritating his sinuses, and I'm supposing that's why he sometimes gets this dark green stuff in his left nostril. The vet said it would help to burr the teeth on that side every 6 to 8 weeks. I know we can't let those roots get any deeper or they could puncture his eye socket. At the moment there are no symptoms from his eye, just his nose.

Someone who claims to be a rabbit expert pretty much told me this was terminal. That all my vet and I could do was keep him comfortable with teeth trimming, but eventually even that won't be enough. I refuse to believe that. There has to be more I can do to prevent those roots from getting any deeper. I was thinking of extracting the teeth causing the problem. Wouldn't this stop the roots from growing? Would he be able to get along without those teeth?
 
Sakura6267 said:
I've been really worried since I found out that Yuki's back teeth are actually pushing through the bones and growing up into his skull. The ones on top looked dangerously close to the eye. I believe this is only happening on the left side, though I need to confirm that with the vet. The roots are already irritating his sinuses, and I'm supposing that's why he sometimes gets this dark green stuff in his left nostril. The vet said it would help to burr the teeth on that side every 6 to 8 weeks. I know we can't let those roots get any deeper or they could puncture his eye socket. At the moment there are no symptoms from his eye, just his nose.

Someone who claims to be a rabbit expert pretty much told me this was terminal. That all my vet and I could do was keep him comfortable with teeth trimming, but eventually even that won't be enough. I refuse to believe that. There has to be more I can do to prevent those roots from getting any deeper. I was thinking of extracting the teeth causing the problem. Wouldn't this stop the roots from growing? Would he be able to get along without those teeth?
Click to expand...

I am a bit busy so I cant post a lengthy reply but you may find this link helpful

http://www.vetdent.eu/downloads/dent-rab-tooth-elong.pdf
 
Thank you, those are both very informative. I learned that molar extraction is a last resort, but I think I may not have a choice if those roots continue to grow.
 
I wish I could help you more with advice, I have had two rabbits with elongated tooth roots and both suffered with abscesse's and Osteomyelitis .
 
Yuki is not suffering from either of those problems yet. I'm searching desperately for a way to prevent them. I just can't lose him. There has to be something more I can do.
 
My rabbit has his teeth burred every 4 weeks as routine to keep the condition "under control". He has been having this for 2 years now and he is now 6.

When I originally found out I looked into teeth extraction but this is very dangerous, especially as the teeth have already grown into the jaw so would be virtually impossible to remove without breaking the jaw.

Edit - I should have mentioned.....my rabbit will not eat hay which is why the dentals are so regular.:roll:
 
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How old is Yuki and what sort of bunny is he?

Other than making sure he has a high fibre diet with lots of hay/grass to munch on (to wear the teeth tops down), and having your vet do a dental occasionally to burr the teeth down to the right level, there really isn't a lot you can do I'm afraid :(

One of my rabbits suffers from a similar problem and she occasionally has x-rays done to see how far/quickly it is progressing, but options are limited. Personally I would not opt for molar extraction in a rabbit unless the teeth were already so loose that they pretty much just fall out on their own.

It's really a case of damage limitation through good diet and regular veterinary checks - at some point in the future you may get a bone infection or roots affecting the eyes/nasal cavity and this would need antibiotic and maybe other treatment as well; the prognosis is not great once it gets this far but my Santa has had these problems for at least 4 years now and, while they're getting worse, she is doing well and is still with us :)

Hope Yuki is ok xx
 
bunny babe said:
My rabbit has his teeth burred every 4 weeks as routine to keep the condition "under control". He has been having this for 2 years now and he is now 6. Edit - I should have mentioned.....my rabbit will not eat hay which is why the dentals are so regular.:roll:
Click to expand...

Has the condition gotten any worse in those 2 years or does the burring keep the roots from getting any deeper? My bun's teeth are close to his eye socket, so if they get any deeper, it'll just be horrible! :( I know what you mean about bunny not eating hay! Mine is stubborn that way too! My vet suggested spraying the hay with unsweetened apple juice, but I have yet to try it. Right now all I'm concerned about is that he eats. But I have another idea for when he's feeling better. I'm going to break up little pieces of hay and stick them in his pellet dish and mix it together with his pellets. He'll have to eat at least a little then!

Santa said:
How old is Yuki and what sort of bunny is he?

Other than making sure he has a high fibre diet with lots of hay/grass to munch on (to wear the teeth tops down), and having your vet do a dental occasionally to burr the teeth down to the right level, there really isn't a lot you can do I'm afraid :(

One of my rabbits suffers from a similar problem and she occasionally has x-rays done to see how far/quickly it is progressing, but options are limited. Personally I would not opt for molar extraction in a rabbit unless the teeth were already so loose that they pretty much just fall out on their own.

It's really a case of damage limitation through good diet and regular veterinary checks - at some point in the future you may get a bone infection or roots affecting the eyes/nasal cavity and this would need antibiotic and maybe other treatment as well; the prognosis is not great once it gets this far but my Santa has had these problems for at least 4 years now and, while they're getting worse, she is doing well and is still with us :)

Hope Yuki is ok xx
Click to expand...

Yuki is a 7 year old dwarf. I have a lot of problems trying to get him to eat hay, or chew on the willow stick in his cage. It seems the teeth are only like this on the left side. It's because there's something wrong with his jaw on that side. In the x-ray there was a space there, not sure how it happened. But because it's like that, his teeth on the left side don't grind down like they should. The vet really only has to burr down that one side. I was thinking of asking her if they could do some kind of surgery to fix the jaw, but I doubt they can do anything. The roots are already affecting his nasal cavity, but it doesn't seem too bad yet. He just breathes funny occasionally, mainly when he's stressed. He also snores sometimes when he sleep. Then he gets this dark green stuff in his left nostril, but it's not runny, and he gets it very seldom. I just wish there was something more that could be done. I don't want my little guy to be in any kind of pain or discomfort. :(
 
He has not had another skull X-ray since the first one so not sure how it has progressed and not sure they would do me any good knowing as there is nothing else we can do. However, he does not have any problems with watery eyes etc.

I tried to spray hay with pineapple juice but he figured out what it was :roll: and he loves pineapple juice.

I also tried to mix it in the food blender with some water and juice to make some "hay cakes", he was not impressed by that either:lol::lol:

I try to get him to munch on the grass as much as possible and buy some of the "grow your own" from Hay experts - it grows long really fast.

Try not to panic too much (like I did and spend the whole weekend crying when I found out - actually it is how I found RU).
 
Sakura6267 said:
Has the condition gotten any worse in those 2 years or does the burring keep the roots from getting any deeper? My bun's teeth are close to his eye socket, so if they get any deeper, it'll just be horrible! :( I know what you mean about bunny not eating hay! Mine is stubborn that way too! My vet suggested spraying the hay with unsweetened apple juice, but I have yet to try it. Right now all I'm concerned about is that he eats. But I have another idea for when he's feeling better. I'm going to break up little pieces of hay and stick them in his pellet dish and mix it together with his pellets. He'll have to eat at least a little then!



Yuki is a 7 year old dwarf. I have a lot of problems trying to get him to eat hay, or chew on the willow stick in his cage. It seems the teeth are only like this on the left side. It's because there's something wrong with his jaw on that side. In the x-ray there was a space there, not sure how it happened. But because it's like that, his teeth on the left side don't grind down like they should. The vet really only has to burr down that one side. I was thinking of asking her if they could do some kind of surgery to fix the jaw, but I doubt they can do anything. The roots are already affecting his nasal cavity, but it doesn't seem too bad yet. He just breathes funny occasionally, mainly when he's stressed. He also snores sometimes when he sleep. Then he gets this dark green stuff in his left nostril, but it's not runny, and he gets it very seldom. I just wish there was something more that could be done. I don't want my little guy to be in any kind of pain or discomfort. :(
Click to expand...

Unfortunately there is very little that can be done once the roots have grown through the jaw bone. Jaws are very fragile in bunnies and removing the teeth can shatter them :( I have had many bunnies with tooth root problems and I am sorry to say the long term out look is very poor. But how long it takes for it to become a major problem is very variable.

As your bunnies roots are growing upwards keep a very careful watch of your bunnies eyes. It they start to protrude or become weepy they may have developed a retrobulbar abscess. I also had a bunny who's tooth roots were pushing on his eye and brain and he developed some major agression and behavioural problems :(

I am sorry this sounds so negative, but sometimes it is good to know what to look out for in a worse case senario. If your bunny has good pain relief he may live a very comfortable life for quite some time :)
 
Yuki doesn't have any eye problems so far either, and hopefully never does. I can understand not really wanting to know, especially since you can't do anything more about it. Yuki has had dental disease for about 3 years, but I never thought his tooth roots were growing into his skull! I only found that out last Saturday, but I've been crying since he became sick, which will be 3 weeks ago tomorrow. :( I just can't bear the thought of losing my little guy, and I blame myself for taking him to a stupid vet for so long who clipped his teeth instead of burred them. That's most likely what caused that one tooth to fracture, and I'm still worried about an abscess forming. I've found a good vet now who knows to burr the teeth, so that's some comfort. I can't wait until next week Saturday (that's my next appointment with her) because I'm very eager to find out if his fractured tooth has gotten better, and hopefully I'll be able to take him off these very strong meds that are making him so tired.

As for the hay, what can you do? You can't force feed it to them (expect in Critical Care but then they still don't get that chewing motion they need.)
 
Hugo's There said:
Unfortunately there is very little that can be done once the roots have grown through the jaw bone. Jaws are very fragile in bunnies and removing the teeth can shatter them :( I have had many bunnies with tooth root problems and I am sorry to say the long term out look is very poor. But how long it takes for it to become a major problem is very variable.

As your bunnies roots are growing upwards keep a very careful watch of your bunnies eyes. It they start to protrude or become weepy they may have developed a retrobulbar abscess. I also had a bunny who's tooth roots were pushing on his eye and brain and he developed some major agression and behavioural problems :(

I am sorry this sounds so negative, but sometimes it is good to know what to look out for in a worse case senario. If your bunny has good pain relief he may live a very comfortable life for quite some time :)
Click to expand...

I do understand how serious and bad this problem is. :( I'm glad you pointed out some things to look for. I can only hope with all my heart that it takes a long time to gets to that point, actually I would prefer he pass away from something else before it gets that bad! I just hope the burring will control it for as long as possible and that I'll still have a few more years with my precious little angel.
 
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