Teeth problems!

Hello everyone!

I am a new bunny owner, Misty is a 4 month old Mini rex and i've only had her 3 weeks. The first week I had her I registered with a local vet and took her to have her jabs and a health check, they checked her teeth quickly and said they looked ok. Last weekend I noticed a lump in her cheek and that she has started dribbling so I made an appointment and took her to the vets Monday morning. They told me she had an abscess which is what I had anticipated (but was hoping is wasn't from dental problems). After an operation the vet told me not just her back teeth but all her teeth have grown wonky and she recommended I take her to see a rabbit specialist in Plymouth who may recommend having all her teeth removed.
I am just looking for any advise really from bunny owners who deal with dental problems, i'm worried how she will eat with no teeth! but what are the other options? She's currently on antibiotics and pain killers and eating fibreplex to help her recover and put on some weight but she can be a feisty little girl when she wants to be and she's definitely not impressed with me poking syringes in her mouth 6 times a day, today is the first time i've seen her thump!
I'm taking her back to the vets to check up on her progress tomorrow, I do think the abscess is decreasing but she's only really eating when i feed her mushed up fruit/veg out of my hand and drinking when i temp her with ice water and every so often scoffing down some dry pellets.
What kind of questions do I need to raise with the vet, and could anyone recommend a Rabbit specialist in the south west/Cornwall, I live 2 hours from plymouth and keen not to keep Misty confined to a box in the car for a 4 hour round trip.

Really appreciate any tips or advise, she's the first pet i've owned myself (and not with my parents) and I just want to do the best for her, she's so little and unwell at the moment.

Sarah and Misty

Hi Sarah and Misty,

Welcome to the forum, and sorry Misty is so unwell

I have no advice, but here's a link to a recommended rabbit vet in Cornwall https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/tools/copy_of_county-or-city/cornwall

Someone else will be along soon with more advice I'm sure xxx

Hi Sarah, sorry to hear about Misty's teeth issue. Welcome to the club of bunny's with teeth problems. My rabbit showed signed of having teeth problems when he was about 6 months old, whilst the vet I was seeing at the time did some initial work on him and removed his front 4 teeth when he was about 1and half years old, they did eventually refer me to a rabbit savey vet as we continued to have problems. I understand the pain and stress of trying to syringe feed and get meds down them and them not eating much. Without boring you with his full medical history, whilst my initial vet did there best for him I do wish I had been referred earlier as things have defo run more smoothly for us since we have seen a rabbit savey vet. We now just have to go back approx every 5 to 6 months for a dental to remove spurs from his remaining teeth (this time can vary depending on the rabbit). I also have to give a him an injection twice a week of penicillin to help prevent an abscess from occurring (I thought I would never be able to give him injections but so use to it now it's just another day at the office). He copes remarkably well with missing teeth, he eats his pellets fine I just have to blend his vegetables for him. He is now nearly 4 years old. I would defo recommend you see a rabbit savey vet, I just hope you can find one a little closer to you. Obviously I'm no expert but wouldn't think they would have to remove all teeth and with regards to questions to ask I didn't really have any as my rabbit savey vet explained everything so clearly regarding what needed to be done and what the future would be like my mind was so put at rest. Just one other thing, you mention about her drinking, have you just left a small bowl of water down as mine won't drink out of a bottle. I hope she is feeling better soon.

Hi, thanks for your reply's and the link, I will contact the rabbit vet in Cornwall and arrange an appointment. The lady's where I have been taking her so far are lovely but I was a bit concerned when they spoke about removing all her teeth... I couldn't understand how she would be able to eat, especially her hay. Misty is still very quiet this evening, it's strange to see her like this she's usually very outgoing! But I have managed to get her to eat (brought her some dandilion leaves which she enjoys) and she's drinking out of a bowl now, I did wonder if it would be difficult for her to drink from a bottle so have started giving her water from a bowl.
Fingers crossed for her trip to the vets tomorrow, I hope they say she is on the road to recovery.

AJT - you mentioned that you take your rabbit back every 5-6 to have Spurs removed from his remaining teeth, how does you vet do this? Are they clipped or filed and does he need to be sedated whilst they do it?

Thanks again for your advice
Sarah and Misy

Hi Sarah, this link might help you find a rabbit vet closer to you. http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/index.php?section=veterinary.html#good_vet

Hi Sarah, glad to hear drinking out of a bowl works. You mentioned about eating hay, I have that issue with reily he has given up eating it unfortunately, he used to try but it was as though he was choking on it so he gave up. I know that this is suppose to be a main part of their diet but if he isn't going to eat it I can't do anything about it. He is quite happy and healthy on what he is eating. Glad to hear you have got her eating a bit better, always best to tempt them with there favourites, Reily's favourites is Kale and the first thing he will eat after having his teeth done. Unfortunately he has to have a GA to have his teeth done, I believe the Spurs are then filed off (never actually asked what they use). When I first had problems with Reily I had a week of him not eating much, not running around and syrine feeding etc so I know how you feel and how stressful it is, but it sounds like you are taking real good care of her and doing as much as you can for her. Has your vet done an X-ray of her teeth at all, if so it might be worth getting it sent onto the rabbit savey vet you decide to go to otherwise you might have to pay for another one.

Sarah and Misty said:

Hi, thanks for your reply's and the link, I will contact the rabbit vet in Cornwall and arrange an appointment. The lady's where I have been taking her so far are lovely but I was a bit concerned when they spoke about removing all her teeth... I couldn't understand how she would be able to eat, especially her hay. Misty is still very quiet this evening, it's strange to see her like this she's usually very outgoing! But I have managed to get her to eat (brought her some dandilion leaves which she enjoys) and she's drinking out of a bowl now, I did wonder if it would be difficult for her to drink from a bottle so have started giving her water from a bowl.
Fingers crossed for her trip to the vets tomorrow, I hope they say she is on the road to recovery.

AJT - you mentioned that you take your rabbit back every 5-6 to have Spurs removed from his remaining teeth, how does you vet do this? Are they clipped or filed and does he need to be sedated whilst they do it?

Thanks again for your advice
Sarah and Misy

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If it's the first time of looking at the teeth, it may be a good idea to have sedation and an X-ray. I always use a vet who does 'conscious dentals' which means without sedation. That way there's no risk of the GA and rabbit recovers very quickly. I also get to see inside the mouth and understand the issues the vet is talking about

Sarah and Misty said:

Hi, thanks for your reply's and the link, I will contact the rabbit vet in Cornwall and arrange an appointment. The lady's where I have been taking her so far are lovely but I was a bit concerned when they spoke about removing all her teeth... I couldn't understand how she would be able to eat, especially her hay. Misty is still very quiet this evening, it's strange to see her like this she's usually very outgoing! But I have managed to get her to eat (brought her some dandilion leaves which she enjoys) and she's drinking out of a bowl now, I did wonder if it would be difficult for her to drink from a bottle so have started giving her water from a bowl.
Fingers crossed for her trip to the vets tomorrow, I hope they say she is on the road to recovery.

AJT - you mentioned that you take your rabbit back every 5-6 to have Spurs removed from his remaining teeth, how does you vet do this? Are they clipped or filed and does he need to be sedated whilst they do it?

Thanks again for your advice
Sarah and Misy

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The following article may be informative and useful for you to read. The Author of the article, Anna Meredith, is a highly respected Exotics Specialist Vet and you will note her emphasis on the fact that a thorough Dental examination and treatment cannot be carried out on a conscious Rabbit. It has nothing to do with the 'skill' of the Vet, but the simple fact that viewing 100% of every part of the oral cavity of a Rabbit requires the use of surgical implements-eg cheek retractors, that cannot be used when a Rabbit is awake. Both for practicable and ethical reasons.

'An initial examination of the cheek teeth can be carried out
in the conscious animal, with use of an otoscope, although it
must be recognised that visibility and detection of abnormalities
will be limited. It is estimated that conscious examination will
reveal only 50% of abnormalities, however. If dental disease is
suspected or lesions are detected in the conscious examination,
examination under deep sedation or anaesthesia must be
performed. This requires the use of specialist gags and cheek
retractors to enable good visualisation (Fig 3). Even then, it is
estimated that only 75% of lesions will be detected, with the
remainder only being picked up on post-mortem examination
(D A Crossley personal communication)'

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf

4 months old is very young to be having major dental problems and abscesses. Well done for spotting it early.

I would request x-rays as well, as part of a thorough investigation under anaesthetic. Then you (and the vets) know what you are really dealing with. Rabbit teeth grow continually throughout their life. The roots also change continually, as well as the bits you can see. A rabbit specialist would expect to look at x-rays anyway, so you could reduce the amount of sedation / anaesthetic by having it all done together, then discuss ongoing treatment. If you get a referral to a specialist vet, you should be able to use existing recent x-rays, with your vet's permission.

Removing teeth is a fairly major undertaking, although front teeth are much easier than cheek teeth. I've not heard of them all being removed before. The amount and frequency of dental work required for the same rabbit can vary over time as well. Teeth that are badly misaligned or have no opposing tooth to ground down on may need weekly to monthly burring down. Some ongoing treatment may be possible on a conscious rabbit, eg front teeth burring, if the vet is willing and the rabbit is OK with it. Stress can kill a rabbit, so it may not be possible. Once things settle into a routine, dentals could be just a few times a year. It can be expensive having a dental rabbit as it is usually an ongoing problem, rather than something that is solved in one go.

Rabbits are able to eat without quite a lot of teeth and bits of missing jaw bone (I had 2 with jaw abscesses). You just have to adapt their diet so they can eat it whilst still getting the right nutrients and fibre, eg grated veg, chopped grass, mushy pellets. Mine could eat leaves hanging off bushes but not from a bowl. The fibre is important for gut function and helps grind the teeth down - so as long as they are able to eat it for gut function, the teeth can be dealt with by the vet, if necessary.

Thanks again for your replies, it looks like the next thing to do is arrange an X-ray so we can decide which teeth are best to be removed. I'm taking her back to the vets later today, hoping they will say the abscess is clearing up!.

AJT said:

You mentioned about eating hay, I have that issue with reily he has given up eating it unfortunately, he used to try but it was as though he was choking on it so he gave up. I know that this is suppose to be a main part of their diet but if he isn't going to eat it I can't do anything about it. He is quite happy and healthy on what he is eating.

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Misty has always been funny with eating Hay, i am wondering now if its been to do with her teeth all along.. before the op i'd noticed her nibbling a few times but nowhere near as much as I had expected, even though i've tried 5 different sorts she never seemed interested. Glad to hear she's not the only one.

Sarah and Misty

Sarah and Misty said:

Thanks again for your replies, it looks like the next thing to do is arrange an X-ray so we can decide which teeth are best to be removed. I'm taking her back to the vets later today, hoping they will say the abscess is clearing up!.



Misty has always been funny with eating Hay, i am wondering now if its been to do with her teeth all along.. before the op i'd noticed her nibbling a few times but nowhere near as much as I had expected, even though i've tried 5 different sorts she never seemed interested. Glad to hear she's not the only one.

Sarah and Misty

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To be fair, it may be the case that teeth are never actually sorted out enough to enable a rabbit to eat hay. However, it's good to give it a go, with a dental and a good vet.

Thank you for your PM and please keep in touch. I hope all goes well with your bunny

I wouldn't expect the first line of action to be removing teeth, unless there is some definitive reason why it needs to be done (eg jaw abscess). Usually, the teeth are burred down to varying degrees to alleviate the condition. This can be a life-long option which is done as needed. It is useful to monitor the rabbit's weight weekly so you can tell when they are not eating properly and start losing weight (or not gaining as they should if they are youngsters).

If there are teeth missing, it creates problems with the others as they need to grind down on each other. Coarse fibres in the diet act as an abrasive. It also means they can move around more as they are not held in place as they should be by the missing ones. If there is incorrect alignment or no alignment of the top and bottom teeth, they will continue to grow as there is nothing to keep them shortened. Rabbit teeth are completely different to human teeth so a different approach is used. We only have one set of permanent teeth. They get repaired or removed and that's it. Rabbit teeth are permanently growing and being ground down by the tough fibres in their food, so any work done on the teeth has a relatively short-term effect - although the amount and frequency of dentals varies a lot with individual rabbits and it can change over time.