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Dental Problems & Preventing Them

XMissySJx

Wise Old Thumper
Jelly had her first dental yesterday and to be honest shes only jusy started eating and despite eating she is still going through phases of looking pretty down in the dumps and sulking.

Now what i dont understand is, I have had Jelly from a baby, since september 2006, she has ALWAYS been a good hay eater and up until recently had perfect teeth. So why has this happened?

My buns literally eat so much hay its crazy, i remember when Lou (louise and gus) was round and i dumped a huuuge pile infront of them and it vanished while we were chatting, i cant express how much hay they eat.

They get meadow hay from the farm, and its thick and course. We also give them a large bowl of redigrass at night and they get excell forage or similar every now and and then as a treat. They have always had things to chew in the way of cardboard, willow, etc etc.

So how does a perfectly healthy bunny, who has had the "correct" diet her whole life, suddenly need a dental?

Can anyone explain as i dont understand why she needed one in the first place.
 
spurs on her back teeth both sides, but more on the right side. slight ulcers on the left, alot of ulcers on the right. Thats all they said, i didnt get the full information as i didnt collect her due to the snow, mum did. but thats what they told her.

they said it went really well, but after obsessive googling i dont see why she had a problem in the first place.

I also paid £114 for the it, and while of course i dont mind, she needed it, im quite keen to stop this being a regular thing. but i dont get how i can :?
 
As a Rabbit ages the dynamics of the jaw can change thus changing the occlusion of the teeth. Although at just 3 it is rather early for that to happen.

It may be that her tooth roots are elongated and this too can effect the occlusion of the teeth. Did the Dental include skull Radiographs ?

If she has ulcers from the spurs she should be on Metacam for at least 3-4 days AFTER the Dental as the ulcers will be painful til they heal.
 
My Abby went the first 5 years of her life without ever needing dental work, but suddenly developed the most awful molar spurs and within a few months needed her teeth doing once a fortnight :(

Her teeth had suddenly started to point in the wrong direction...but I have no idea why (x-rays showed her roots were okay and none of her teeth were loose).
 
Spurs are usually an issue with bunnies that don't eat enough hay. You say she's a massive hay eater, make sure she's also eating plenty of Leafy Greens. I can't think of any advice, as I have a bunny with serious dental disease and I love her with my life, it saddens me that although she had hay available from the start (she is allergic to shavings) she had bedding/floor solely of hay yet she didn't eat it much. It as only after her first dental that she began eating more hay, but by the then, it was too late and the damage was done. I pay a minimum of £119 per dental, the maximum being £270 and that's not even out of hours, and that every 2-3 weeks so far, sadly Lola is 3, 4 in April and I want to have many more years with her.

I hope someone can give you some advice, at least the spurs were detected by you! So well done :)
 
no she didnt have anything like a radiograph etc. she also didnt get any metacam as aparantly she didnt need it. my mum argued the fact for ages but they woudnt give it. she is eating fine, but when i take back the wrong carrier they gave us :roll: tomorrow im going to insist on some, they can say no to mum but not too me , im not happy at all.

is there anything i can do to prevent her needing work in the future, or not then? :(
 
Spurs are usually an issue with bunnies that don't eat enough hay. You say she's a massive hay eater, make sure she's also eating plenty of Leafy Greens. I can't think of any advice, as I have a bunny with serious dental disease and I love her with my life, it saddens me that although she had hay available from the start (she is allergic to shavings) she had bedding/floor solely of hay yet she didn't eat it much. It as only after her first dental that she began eating more hay, but by the then, it was too late and the damage was done. I pay a minimum of £119 per dental, the maximum being £270 and that's not even out of hours, and that every 2-3 weeks so far, sadly Lola is 3, 4 in April and I want to have many more years with her.

I hope someone can give you some advice, at least the spurs were detected by you! So well done :)

she eats alot of leafy greens too, they have literally the "perfect" diet. thats what im so confused about :(
 
Heather had a dental about 3.5 years ago after developing slight spurs on her teeth. She was always a good hay eater then and she is still a good hay eater now, and her teeth have been fine ever since :? She's a dwarf lop though so higher risk, but even so it has only happened the once with her - so please don't immediately panic that she might suddenly need them regularly.

Teeth grow incredibly quickly so it could be something as simple as a few 'off' days at some point (has there been a time, for example where your normal hay hasn't been available or hasn't been the usual quality?) meaning that there was just enough time for some edges of tooth to creep around the opposite tooth and start to grow out from there.

I'm sure I read somewhere that leafy greens don't help buns to wear their teeth down, because they have been engineered to be soft and fragile for the human market and are not chewy and stalky like 'wild' leafy plants would be for their teeth.
 
this has happened to us aswell this recently. bisc and matt are 3 and a half now and have always eaten loads of hay, had the right diet etc... and last year have both started getting spurs. matt has had two dentals last year and bisc one.
 
Heather had a dental about 3.5 years ago after developing slight spurs on her teeth. She was always a good hay eater then and she is still a good hay eater now, and her teeth have been fine ever since :? She's a dwarf lop though so higher risk, but even so it has only happened the once with her - so please don't immediately panic that she might suddenly need them regularly.

Teeth grow incredibly quickly so it could be something as simple as a few 'off' days at some point (has there been a time, for example where your normal hay hasn't been available or hasn't been the usual quality?) meaning that there was just enough time for some edges of tooth to creep around the opposite tooth and start to grow out from there.

I'm sure I read somewhere that leafy greens don't help buns to wear their teeth down, because they have been engineered to be soft and fragile for the human market and are not chewy and stalky like 'wild' leafy plants would be for their teeth.

hmmm. now you say that when peanut died she only picked at her food, and even when bonded with the others i didnt see my "real" Jelly back for a good few weeks, she always used to sit waiting :( and didnt get involved. now there all as close as anything and its lovely, but with losing Peanut she definatly was off for a few weeks.
 
she gets alot of wild forage from the garden too, milk thistle, dandelions, and other bits like that, so she gets a good selection.

i just worry its something i did
 
Dudley eats a lot of hay too so it was a bit of a shock when he had the spur on his right back molar! I was also given a bottle of metacam for him after his dental at Penrose! He needed some the next morning after which he really picked up! Also when I took Daisy for her last check up at Spring Lodge (after the bad stasis episode) I randomly asked for a bottle of metacam as mine was out of date! They gave me a bottle without any probs!! They know I use it to help fend off her stasis episodes! I say go in there and kick up a stink!!!
 
I've read this with interest as my Jester is having a dental on Monday and he's a very good hay eater and has a good diet (although they do get naturals treats - maybe I should stop all fenugreek crunchies and carrotys).

He has 'ledges' on his back teeth apparently, and although there are no ulcers or any contact with his cheeks to cause discomfort, my vet has advised he has them levelled to avoid any future problems.

I hope Jelly doesn't need regular dentals, and very much hope Jester won't either.
 
Alvin had a tiny spur in may had a dental and his teeth have been fine since. checked loads and loads of times by various vets thanx to his stasis. and nope not one little spur has come back.

she may not become a dental bunny hun, she may never need one again :D
 
As a Rabbit ages the dynamics of the jaw can change thus changing the occlusion of the teeth. Although at just 3 it is rather early for that to happen.

It may be that her tooth roots are elongated and this too can effect the occlusion of the teeth. Did the Dental include skull Radiographs ?

If she has ulcers from the spurs she should be on Metacam for at least 3-4 days AFTER the Dental as the ulcers will be painful til they heal.

This is what my vet told me when I asked the same question when Sorrel started getting spurs. As far as I understand it, hay wears the teeth down, but if they're not properly lined up there will always be a part of the tooth surface that doesn't get properly worn - so however much hay is eaten, won't solve the problem entirely. Sorrel also had elongated tooth roots.

I'm sure it's nothing you did as she obviously has a great diet. I managed to ectend the interval between Sorrel's dentals by cutting her pellets to virtually none and using any means possible to get hay into her but it sounds like you already do that :?
 
Alvin had a tiny spur in may had a dental and his teeth have been fine since. checked loads and loads of times by various vets thanx to his stasis. and nope not one little spur has come back.

she may not become a dental bunny hun, she may never need one again :D

i hope so, she really hasnt coped that well with it, she still seems really subdued etc, id hate to put her through that often.
 
i dont think its that, i dont know, shes eating fine now and doesnt wince or anything, she just looks a bit subdued from it all.

poor girl
 
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