Dentals-how often ?

I know there is no set answer to this, as each bun will differ, but how often is "normal". Both of mine have had their first dentals, Treacle about 6 weeks ago, Toffee 3 weeks ago. Both of them were showing same things, not eating nuggets (don't get many) not eating stalky hay, just the soft stuff, and looking a bit sorry for themselves. Treacle had spurs both sides, but not bad, and no sore tongue. Poor Toffee had a nasty sore at the back of his tongue, and Spurs on one side. Both seemed fine after, and gradually got back to normal eating.
Now they both seem to be slipping back again ! Can't believe this would happen so quickly. I'm so worried about them, surely they can't keep having a G.A. every few weeks, not to count the cost ! Haven't contacted the vet as yet, but I suppose that's the next step.
Just wondered how everyone else goes on with dental buns, this is new to me. Also, if a tooth keeps forming spurs, would it be better in the long run to take it out ?

Sounds like a nightmare. I'd imagine it would be better in the long run to get the teeth removed as frequent anaesthetics can't be good for them. Not to mention the stress it must cause. I've had no experience with dental buns personally though so I can't offer much advice I'm afraid x

For some as little as 6weeks I had also thought about extractions but think is major op and the worry would be messing the whole mouth system up, mabel had xrays last time showed slight elongated roots front cheek teeth and at very back, I understand how you feel on costs to as at roughly 200 a time soon adds up and insurance won't pay

Chloe had GA every two months for her dental and she just died of old age at 12. Her vet practices GA with gas thru a mask, the safest rather than a chemical injection. And the animal is fully awake 10 minutes later on his 4 feet. This is generally used now in France with rabbits and small mammals. What kind of GA do British vets practice ?

Martine said:

Chloe had GA every two months for her dental and she just died of old age at 12. Her vet practices GA with gas thru a mask, the safest rather than a chemical injection. And the animal is fully awake 10 minutes later on his 4 feet. This is generally used now in France with rabbits and small mammals. What kind of GA do British vets practice ?

Click to expand...

To be honest I'm not sure, they did tell me they only gave light GA, I'd assumed it was gas, but might be wrong.

mini lop1 said:

For some as little as 6weeks I had also thought about extractions but think is major op and the worry would be messing the whole mouth system up, mabel had xrays last time showed slight elongated roots front cheek teeth and at very back, I understand how you feel on costs to as at roughly 200 a time soon adds up and insurance won't pay

Click to expand...

Yes that's what I thought might happen if they start extracting. I paid about £74 last time For Treacle, but double that if they both have to be done. Oh well has to be done bless them.

Removing rabbit's teeth isn't like removing human teeth. Their teeth continue to grow and need to be ground down against each other. If there is no opposing tooth, the remaining opposite one will have to be burred down regularly. Missing teeth may cause a misalignment of the grinding surfaces of the remaining teeth.

Treating spurs is a fairly routine procedure. The intervals between GAs can vary a lot. Mine were anything from 6 weeks to 9 months with the same rabbit. Diet does help - if you can get them eating more hay, grass or other fibrous forage (eg bramble leaves). It can increase the interval between dentals. Your vet (or a referral to a specialist) may also be able to grind the teeth down further - this helps with root problems and increases time between dentals.

I have had 3 dental bunnies. They coped with GAs well - even into old age, and one had lung problems.

I have a dental bun but his last dental was around 5 months ago now - we were aiming for every 3-6 months for him but now aiming for 6+ as doing so well! He's not showing any signs of needing one but will take him for a check in September

My vet did mention having some that end up in once a month for a dental but that seems to be the short end of the time span for dentals!

I know there's a bit of controversy between hay only diets and normal diets but after Fergs dental we put him on a hay (and veg) only diet and I'm convinced that has made all the difference, he eats so much more hay now and I think that's really helping

I've had a fair bit of experience with dental rabbits who have molar problems over the years and there really isn't an interval between dentals which would be considered as normal. I have bunnies who need dentals very occasionally, Roo is my most frequent at the moment and he is every 5-6 months, but my late bunny Herbie needed dentals every 3 weeks. If it is down to diet, then improving the diet with more hay will obviously help, but if it is misalignment of the teeth, then obviously diet is very important but it will not cure the problem. My Roo is a brilliant hay eater, he eats fresh grass and veg/herbs and he only gets a very few SS pellets a day, but 5-6 months between dentals seems to be the best we can get for him.

My late bunny Herbie's dental problems started when he was 18 months old and continued throughout his life. At first he needed dentals every 6 weeks, but when he reached 3 years old his problems worsened and he ended up having dentals every 3 weeks and on occasions sometimes 2 weeks. At this point my vet referred us to FHB. FHB's opinion was that removing teeth should only be considered as a last resort and that we should continue with his regular dentals as and when he needed them even it it did mean every 2-3 weeks. As has already been said, extracting teeth is not straightforward in rabbits and often with dental issues comes root elongation. Herbie really was at the worst end of the dental scale, he didn't have a good tooth in his head, all were misaligned. Despite his problems and his very frequent GAs, he lived to 7 years old. Herbie was a lop (he's the black & white bunny in my signature) and lops can be prone to malocclusion due to the shape of their face and jaw. My dental bunny Roo is also a lop with a similar shaped 'squashed' face to Herbie. My bunnies who have just needed occasional dentals are all uppy-eared with more pointed faces. That said, I have two lop girls who are 7 and have not needed a dental in their life.

Try not to worry too much at the moment, even if they need a dental now after a short interval, it doesn't necessarily mean that it is setting the pattern for the future. Roo goes every 5-6 months, but in January this year he only went 4 weeks. I immediately thought he was going down the same route as Herbie, but then he went back to 6 months again. It always think it is worth having a set of skull xrays done as this enables the vet to see what the roots are doing and what state they are in.

Hope all goes well for Toffee and Treacle xx