• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.
  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

REMOVING RABBITS FRONT TEETH ?

Nicola3

Mama Doe
Tis me again.

As some of you may know I have a wild bunny that was found injured in the road on Easter Sunday.

The accident has caused problems with his teeth and he has to have his back teeth trimmed every few months. He is also blind in one eye. However his problems don't affect him charging around the place, skipping, hopping and having lots of bunny fun. He is only 9 months old.

I took him to the Vets yesterdy to have his front teeth burred as these also need trimming. The Vet said it may be worth removing Harveys front teeth as this may help the back teeth. I really don't know what to do for the best.

Doeas anybody have any knowledge in this area?

Advice please,

Nic n Harvey xx

BUNNY1.jpg
 
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/tam/viewtopic.php?t=12621&highlight=front+teeth this is a thread which is fairly recent from someone who was in a similiar predicament to you. This may help you.

ARC have over the past few years taken in a number of rabbits who have had problems with malocclusion and they all have done well after removal of their front teeth, they usually cope better than they did having to have regular dental intervention. Long term it is less stressfull.

You will need to make minor adjustments to the diet of your rabbit, they are able to eat pelleted food easier than mix, hay needs to be chopped up for some rabbits and fresh food will need to be either cut up into small chnks or grated.

Janice
 
Hi Janice,

I was just wondering how do you know that the removal of the front teeth will sort out the back teeth? In his accident he was knocked on the left side as this is where his eye was knocked and he is consequently blind on that side.

His teeth have also been affected on the left side, as it is only this side that his molars need trimming. How will you know that removing the front teeth will correct the back ones if he has suffered trauma to one side?

Soz for all the questions. It's like having a baby I'm constantly fretting about dear Harvey and what is the best way forward to sort his problems out. I get so stressed about it, he' such a dear little man.

Thanks,

Nic n Harvey xx
BUNNY1.jpg
 
Squidgy had his front teeth out, almost as soon as I got him. I had started to clip his teeth myself, but it was all rather traumatic!
He is absolutely fine without them. We cut up his hay and veggies, but has no different diet to my other bunnies. He has no molar problems as yet (touch wood) three years after he had them removed, but I don't know why or how!
 
HS said
how do you know that the removal of the front teeth will sort out the back teeth?

I have no experience of rabbits who have had an injury like yours, the ones I have had contact with are ones who have had congenital problems. In theory I would think that if the front teeth are removed there may be little change in how the jaw is aligned. However by removing the front teeth the rabbit will not have so much time when the mouth has to remain in abnormal positions and slightly open not allowing the back teeth to meet, an operation to remove the teeth may allow the back teeth to actually meet together and grind each other down. By removing the front teeth, Squidgy will have greater periods of time where he is able to eat normally and this will allow for more wearing down of the teeth than currently happens, which should improve his current situation.

You would need to discuss this with your vet as he has examined Squidgy, he may beable to answer your questions, it may be that this will be a wait and see situation.

Sorry I cannot be of much help.

Janice
 
I have a bun with had to have his front teeth out and I was actually relieved as his appetite had never been better as he was eating the veg that he wouldn't normally eat.
 
Hello,

Thing is, altho Harvey has had to have his front teeth trimmed a couple of times, it has not been anything too bad. It has just been a matter of clipping one side of his front teeth. It was the last time he had his front teeth clipped, the man that did it made a complete hash of them and crushed them to pieces. He has now had them burred down to try and remedy what the Vet had previously done. I will never have his teeth clipped again! I didn't even know rabbits were able to have their front teeth burred without GA.

The only thing I was worried about is ,what if the front teeth are removed and he still has trouble with his back teeth? Won't he be worse off? I don't want to create any more problems for him. He eats vegetables and his pellets fine at the mo, it's just the hay he's not fond of. How do I know that it wouldn't stop him eating. If he has trouble eating with his back teeth at the mo and he has his front teeth removed, how do I know it won't cause him more trouble eating?

But, if removing the front teeth stopped him from having to have his back teeth trimmed every few months it would definately be worth doing.

I'm so stressed out about it all....I don't know what to do.....?

Poor Harvey : (
 
Hello,

I've been thinking about Harveys teeth problems all night.
I was just wondering, would the Vet be able to take an x-ray of his teeth/jaw? This may help us come to a decision as we would be able to see how the teeth, roots and jaw are positioned and whether surgery would correct the molar problem?

Because all Harveys teeth problems stem from his accident where he was knocked on one side the x-ray may help to see where the problems stem from.

The only thing I was worried about is ,what if the front teeth are removed and he still has trouble with his back teeth? Won't he be worse off? I don't want to create any more problems for him. He eats chopped up vegetables and his pellets fine at the mo, it's just the hay he's not fond of.

If he has trouble eating with his back teeth at the mo and he has his front teeth removed, how do I know it won't cause him more trouble eating?

Nic n Harvey
 
If his teeth are overgrowing, it means thay're not meeting together properly to wear themselves down, and are probably pretty much useless anyway :) There are people on here whose buns have problems with molars too (Can't remember who I'm afraid :oops: ) and I'm sure that the buns get used to it.
Squidgy manages his food so much better now - you'd never know his front teeth weren't there. We just have to help him out a bit with cutting his food and hay up. Hay cakes are great as well, as they can be crumbled up :wink:
 
From my experience, my 3 bunnies have coped fine with having their front teeth out. It varied a little, but they were generally up and eating as normal from as little as the same evening, up to a few days after (though the two probably took longer as they had other complications - Mary had an eye infection and his gut had begun to shut down before the op, and Rex had a problem bleeding after his neuter, which he had at the same time)
Mallocluded front teeth are meant to be useless to a rabbit - I know that my first two didn't really like eating hay and couldn't really chew on any gnaw blocks or chunks of carrot when their teeth had been burred. Rex could manage straight after he'd had them burred down, but his teeth were misaligned due to breaking one and it growing back slightly wonky, so it wasn't as severe as Mary and Squishy's (theirs was genetic, so their front and back teeth were set in the wrong position and didn't meet) - the wonky tooth had just grown inwards towards the other tooth and as it grew, pushed the other one to that side too, and then his bottom incisors started to overgrow as they weren't meeting to wear down.
All 3 had them removed as I'd done the whole weekly burring thing with Mary to begin with - after about 5 days his coat lost it's shine, he began to lose his appetite and he'd sit sulking in his cage (he's normally a VERY cheeky bun so this was very out of character)
After he had them removed, he was so much better. He could groom himself properly, ate more hay, and was just his regular bouncy self all the time.
He's had molar spurs since, but I think should I not have had his incisors taken out, his molar problems would be a lot worse. He ate very little hay when he had his incisors, yet now he gobbles down loads and has gone from having dentals every month or two, to not having had one in the last 9 months. Squishy had bad molars too, but he eats lots of hay now he's had his incisors out, it's cleared up the dodgy tummy he had for the majority of his bunny babyhood, and his teeth haven't needed any work so far.
I'd definately recommend the op, as long as the bun is healthy enough in itself to bounce back from a semi-major operation under anaesthetic.
 
Have just been on the phone to my Vet to talk about Harveys teeth problems

She seems to think that removing the front teeth may not neccessarily correct the back teeth due to where he was hit in the road accident. As he was hit side-on resulting in him being blinded in one eye, it is probable that his molars were misaligned, resulting in the molars pushing the incisors out of line. If it was the other way around and the incisors were pushing the molars out of line there would be a better chance of his molars correcting.

I think I will wait and see what happens. Next time he has to have his molars trimmed I will get the the Vet to x-ray his teeth and then we will be able to see how all his teeth and roots are arranged.

Nic n Harvey xx
 
Back
Top