rabbit tooth cutters

hi

does anyone know where i can get some rabbit tooth cutters from and a large-ish syringe??

x

missblondebunny said:

hi

does anyone know where i can get some rabbit tooth cutters from and a large-ish syringe??

x

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You serious?
you should never cut rabbits teeth with cutters

Clipping rabbits teeth is an old fashioned means of reducing the length of a rabbits teeth, modern day improvments have meant that burring of teeth now is far more appropriate as it gently cuts the teeth in a straight line. This is in comparison to clipping where the tooth will shatter forcing small particles to be dispersed every where, the tooth normally shatters in a sideward and upward manner causing jagged teeth which can cause mouth injuries, infection can also track up the damaged upward tracks and cause jaw infections. This is also very painful for the rabbit.

With the introduction of burring, no vet should be now clipping teeth, if they are suggesting this they are ill informed and not up to date with a technique which has been practiced by most good vetinarys for at least the last 8 years. I would have to say avoid them like the plaque. Burring is far less stressful and painful for a rabbit.

If you have a rabbit who has repeated front teeth problems, do consider having them removed, rabbits do manage very well without them, this is certainly less stressful than hving regular burring of these teeth. Ensure that your vet is 'rabbit' orientated prior to considering this.

Janice

jrn1310 said:

With the introduction of burring, no vet should be now clipping teeth, if they are suggesting this they are ill informed and not up to date with a technique which has been practiced by most good vetinarys for at least the last 8 years. I would have to say avoid them like the plaque. Burring is far less stressful and painful for a rabbit.

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What is 'burring'?? What does it involve? can i do it myself?

last time i went to the vets they clipped my rabbits teeth, i thought it would be cheaper for me to purchase the clippers and to clip their teeth myself instead of the vets doing it as its easy enough.

missblondebunny said:

jrn1310 said:

With the introduction of burring, no vet should be now clipping teeth, if they are suggesting this they are ill informed and not up to date with a technique which has been practiced by most good vetinarys for at least the last 8 years. I would have to say avoid them like the plaque. Burring is far less stressful and painful for a rabbit.

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What is 'burring'?? What does it involve? can i do it myself?

last time i went to the vets they clipped my rabbits teeth, i thought it would be cheaper for me to purchase the clippers and to clip their teeth myself instead of the vets doing it as its easy enough.

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No you cant burr rabbits teeth yourself this is done under antisthetic
clipping rabbits teeth is cruel,ans can be painfull for the rabbit,its an old fasioned way of doing things,id never let a vet clip any of my rabbits teeth with clippers

could someone please explain what burring is to me as i have never heard of it before - i had no idea there was another of 'sorting out' rabbits teeth.

Are you having a laugh :shock: :shock: :lol: :lol: , please don't attempt to do your rabbits teeth yourself.

missblondebunny said:

could someone please explain what burring is to me as i have never heard of it before - i had no idea there was another of 'sorting out' rabbits teeth.

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Read here
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/tam/viewtopic.php?p=79953&sid=1a90d3912bdd128c05a3281381e94bf5

Miss Blonde Buny said

could someone please explain what burring is to me as i have never heard of it before - i had no idea there was another of 'sorting out' rabbits teeth.

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Please read this article by the rabbit welfare organisation, please note it was written in 2002 and by todays standards rabbit knowedgable vets will not clip teeth. http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rwf/articles/dental_disease.htm it explains the problems of teeth and what can go wrong with them, how they are examined and it outlines briefly what options you have. It it is says

Please note that clipping overgrown front teeth is no longer recommended. Clipping places extreme forces on the tooth, compressing the sensitive pulp further up the tooth and sending a shock wave through the skull. It’s painful (which is why rabbits hate it) and it can also shatter the tooth roots, leading to infection. Having said that, not all vets are equipped with suitable dental burrs (although this is changing as a greater proportion of veterinary practices purchase equipment suitable for rabbit dentistry), and some rabbits hate being restrained for burring - so the quicker option of clipping may be the lesser of two evils in some cases.

Extracting the front teeth offers a permanent solution, but it’s may only be worth doing if the rest of the teeth are in reasonable shape. Hence, most vets insist on doing X-rays of the teeth and skull before taking out incisors.

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Burring front teeth does not have to be done under general anaesthetic if you have a good vet, back teeth needs an anaesthetic, I would suggest that if you put your rough location on this site, someone who has a knoweldgable vet in your area may be able to recomend someone. I would certainly not recomend taking your rabbit back to this vet as they do not appear to be up to date with rabbit care, something which is essential.

If you find a good vet I would discuss the option of having their front teeth removed if thier growth is continually a problem, rabbits do well with their teeth removed and many people on this forum have front toothless rabbits.


Janice

sorry to sound stupid,but is burring the same as fileing? my vet said she filed my old bunnies back teeth ( he had very bad problems with teeth that grew at a funny angle cutting into his cheek and irritating his ter duct )

and also, does the same princible apply to rats? most vets still clip their teeth.

Hi missblondebunny,
Which vets do you use? I'm in Bromley, so not that far away. I use The Laurels in Bromley, who seem very good with rabbits and have a very knowledgeable vet nurse. I've also been recommended Darwins in Biggin Hill (bit more your way, but a bit far away from me). Both these practices were recommended to me by the rescue where I got Kahlo, and they use Darwins as its cheaper apparently!

I think that vets can file down back teeth when they are under anaesthetic, I think that burring is pretty much the same technique. Princess had her front teeth burred about 4 weeks ago when she was awake but is going in tomorrow to have a GA and a dental - looks like I'm about to learn lots about dental problems!!

Nicola

Have you ever seen a Dremel tool, that's pretty much what burring is.
It's a small, handheld electric/battery operated machine with a tiny round blade that spins very quickly. This cuts through the front teeth without causing pain or risk of shattering. Imagine a very small angle grinder!
Our vet puts a pen behind the teeth so they are easy to see and there's no chance of cutting the mouth.

racheyrabbit said:

Hi missblondebunny,
Which vets do you use? I'm in Bromley, so not that far away. I use The Laurels in Bromley, who seem very good with rabbits and have a very knowledgeable vet nurse. I've also been recommended Darwins in Biggin Hill (bit more your way, but a bit far away from me). Both these practices were recommended to me by the rescue where I got Kahlo, and they use Darwins as its cheaper apparently!

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oh a side note i'm off to bromley tomorrow! i'll give you a wave. :wave:

my sister uses the laurels too.

Thanks Janice

Ive never had any problems with my vets, they have neutered all of bunnies and there have never been any complications. perhaps if i knew about it i could've asked for that instead. i definatley will next time. its just the one bunny i have with teeth problems, because she doesn't chew anything!!!

ive put card board boxes in her hutch, sticks etc etc, she chews the card sometimes but thats it, other than chewing on hay and grass!!!

Eating hay (provided it's reasonable quality and enough is eaten) should be enough to keep a rabbit with normally aligned teeth from developing problems. Perhaps your rabbit's teeth are misaligned?

Beatrix's teeth are mis aligned, but she keeps them under control herself on my bloomin skirting boards :shock: :lol:

SOAD said:

Beatrix's teeth are mis aligned, but she keeps them under control herself on my bloomin skirting boards :shock: :lol:

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ohhh dear :?

sassi my nethie has the problems and shes inside most of the time and she doesn't chew a single thing. She sits behind the sofa and my OH is speaker/amp etc mad and always has the latest gadgets and theres wires everywhere and she doesn't chew them, she just sits on them :lol: she does it lots of hay and grass and her vegs and her teeth are still 'funny'

my dwarf lops however are a different story, they were always chewing the carpets, cables, wires, the wood edge round the fire place, my OH didn't like it so their not allowed in anymore, but they come in when he's at work shhhhhhhhhhhh dont tell :lol: :lol:

Nethies are very prone to teeth problems as their heads are so small, my Lucy has the same trouble but I take her to the vets every time I suspect her teeth are playing up, I would never ever do it myself.