following on from dental vid...

Hi everyone,:wave: Ive not been on here for a while im afraid. Went to live in Holland for 6 months and also have been enjoying relatively stress free bun ownership for a change!

Anyway one of my buns is a four year old blind english cross with dental problems incisor and molar. She gets them burred every couple of months and im taking her tomorrow to get them all done. Ive just watched that video of a rabbit getting its molars done which i found really interesting as ive always wondered what it looks like in there!

I was (i wouldnt say shocked) but not nice seeing the mouth clamped open. The vet who does my rabbit does not use GA when he does her (other vets at the practice do) im worried now that shes going through that each time she gets done. It must be extremely stressful for a concious rabbit to have its mouth clamped open like that. Had a look on the vets website and it says under no circumstances should molar therapy be performed on a concious rabbit.

I think hes an excellent vet (hes the resident vet and director of the branch) and normally trust him with all our pets but now i dont know whether to say something?! I realise this is late so i probably wont get any replies before tomorrow.

Need to speak to the vet about her tomorrow anyway as shes blind as a bat and cant really eat hay anymore so need to ask about how good the quality of life is for her..

Aww she sounds like a old girl. You could always tell the vet that you would rather the rabbit went under GA or maybe sedate her before they do the teeth. I know my rabbit usually is really stressed out when the vet just tries to look in his mouth. It is definetly worth it to ask the vet about it though. We used to have a guinea pig that had no top teeth, he required to get his teeth done every month. Eventually he got to old to just sedate and he seemed to do well with the GA. Good luck

Like most people, vets will not always agree on what the best option is. Some vets think dentals should never be carried out on a conscious rabbit where as others think that in some circumstances a conscious dental is better than a general anaesthetic.

For example in an elderly rabbit, one with compromised organ or lung function or even a rabbit that's gone into stasis already, an anaesthetic can be very risky. In that case a conscious dental, particularly if the rabbit needs it doing every 6-8 weeks, may be the safest option or the only viable option as opposed to putting to sleep.

It's also, in my opinion, a good option for minor dental work. Gypsy has started to get a single spur on one of her back teeth. She's relaxed enough about being handled I can stick my finger in her mouth and feel the point when it needs doing. Option A is a full day at the vet, in an usual and stressful environment, the risk of an anaesthetic, several hours feeling groggy and possibly several hours to start eating afterwards. Option B is a 5 minute procedure done while you wait and straight back home to tuck into lunch afterwards. I'm sure it's not particularly pleasant but I don't think it's worse than option A.

It's also down to the rabbit too, some just aren't suitable candidates for a conscious dental because of their behaviour/reactions.

You really need to decide between you, your rabbit and the vet what's best

AFAIK the RWA are looking into discussing 'Conscious Dentals' in the Summer addition of their Quarterly Magazine 'Rabbiting On'.
Not 100% certain but Richard Saunders of Bristol Rabbit Clinic may be asked to write an article about Rabbit Dentals

ETA Maybe you could request that you observe the proceedure your Vet carries out. Then you can see for yourself what happens

Thanks guys, Dropped Shadow off at half eight this morning and picked her up at half three. (She was done at about ten but that was the only chance i could get to talk to the vet) She was done under GA this time and had a couple of long spurs and incisors burred.

Shes not that old shes only four!! Not sure what caused the blindness, was told it could be trauma or a brain disorder or something. Just have to keep going i guess, and keep getting the teeth done...