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Removing incisor teeth

nicolar

Mama Doe
Princess has maloccluded front teeth, which first started in Feb of this year. She has had them burred about every 2 months or so since then, but recently it has been once a month. I'm off to the vets again this afternoon with her to have them burred (it's been 4 weeks since last visit, they aren't bad at mo but I won't have a day off during next 2 weeks to take her and I don't want them to be awful when I get back).

I was wondering about people's experiences with removing front teeth? I've read a few people's experiences and it all seems quite positive, I'm sure she will be happier without them as she does get stressed going to the vets and can't be pleasant having teeth that grow like that! I'm going to talk to my vet about having them removed this afternoon. When I mentioned it about 5 months ago to another vet, she wasn't too keen, she thought it was a big op for Princess (think she was inferring she was old! I'd estimate her to be about 4ish, but in good health now, had bloat beginning of September but fine now).

She last had her molars done in Feb, so am wondering if they may need doing too - though she has no trouble eating really, apart from when her front teeth start getting long - but then I just notice she won't munch on carrot or things that are too hard.

Any thoughts or opinions?

Nicola
 
i would def have them out nicolar, i have two buns with no front teeth now Samson and William and tey both manage alot better without there teeth than they did with, Williams were badley malocluded and Samson nocked his out but they both manage to eat hay chopped beggies and there pellets and neither need vet trips every few weeks for burring. Xx
 
Thanks Phill, I think I was hoping for the positive stories, I've read and heard a lot so I am convinced that will be the right step to take - at the begiining I thought I would give it time in case a few burrings were all that was needed to bring them back into line, but I feel it's getting worse not better! Sounds like your buns are much happier, I think Princess would cope fine with chopped up veggies + pellets, she isn't much of a hay eater, but does eat the Timothy hay cubes, just have to break them up for her!!! No doubt she will figure out a new way of eating my Dad's flowers too!!!

Now thinking ahead, if my vet isn't too happy to do it would I be best going to a different vets to get it done? My vets have always been really good with my bunnies so I'm not anticipating a problem with the vet I usually see, but you never know!! The vet we use with work seems very good with rabbits - we just had 7 of our rabbits neutered there, all fine and came back with good advice etc. But they are about an hour away from my house. Or as I've heard such good things about the vet that Jane uses (Christabel) I'm thinking of them - again they are about 40 mins away from me.

Nicola
 
If your vet wont Nicolar and you can get to Christabel i would def take her to see her. She will be better off without her front teeth, In williams case removing his front teeth actually stopped his back ones from growing spurs as he was able to eat Hay and pellets properly
 
Have heard such good things about her that I think she will be my choice of vets if it comes to that! My best friend lives near Twickenham so am used to going over there and it's not really too far - only 40 mins or so. Will update later though once I've spoken to my vet.

Princess only has 1 molar on each of her bottom jaws (vet found this in Feb when she had a dental under GA) - so am not sure whether she actually has enough teeth there to eat hay!! Bless her!!

Nicola
 
Alice had her front teeth removed a few years ago, I think she was about 2 or 3 at the time. Since then, some of her other teeth have fallen out or have had to be removed. I would say definately to have them taken out as your bun will be much more comfortable. Alice has only one tooth in her whole mouth now, you just have to be a bit more creative when you're feeding them. Alice weighs a healthy 2.55kg as well, so we're not struggling to keep her weight up!!!

Good luck whatever you decide to do! :thumb:

Gemma
 
Squidgy had his incisors out about 3 and a half years ago. He's fine without them. We just cut his fresh food up into manageable pieces.
 
How does your rabbits cope with verry little teeth?
How do you feed them?
What about hay?
Sorry for all the questions :oops:
 
Ah bless Alice with only one tooth!! I can see Princess going that way - from what the vet said in Feb her teeth aren't brilliant! Sounds like Alice does very well without them. Princess is such a foody bun, that I'm sure I could find a way to feed her, however many teeth she has!! Let's just hope my vet is in agreement now!
 
I basically feed Alice the same as I always have done, I just chop it up into tiny pieces in the blender. This is a selection of her fave veggies, Excel junior pellets (they are small) and a sprinkle of Protexin Pro-Fibre with a drop of water. I do this 2 or 3 times a day, depending on how hungry she is.

Alice can't eat hay anymore, which is why I give her the Pro-Fibre. If your bun can still eat pellets but not hay, I'd recommend the Allen & Page Natural Pellets as they're very high in fibre.

We seem to cope pretty well with this feeding regime. Alice has had a few eposides of gut stasis, but these have been caught quickly and a jab of Metaclopromide has soon got her going again. However, we think these stasis bouts have been due to an abscess rather than lack of fibre, which was what we'd originally put it down to.

I don't think toothless buns suffer in any way if you're prepared to spend a bit more time on preparing their food.

If I can give any more advice, please ask. I'm happy to pass on anything that I've learned over the past few years!! :D

Gemma
 
Ah thanks Gemma :) It's nice to know that there are ppl out there who I can turn to for advice. Both my rabbits are on the A+P pellets, Princess has a bit of Excel in there too as she seems to love the Excel and isn't quite such a fan of the A+P but she will eat it, prefers it more now than she used to!

Am happy to spend the time preparing her food, I already cut her veggies up quite small, especially once her teeth start getting a bit long as she can't manage big chunks so that's not a problem.

Off to the vets now, will pop back on when I get back!

Nicola
 
Have just come back from the vets, Princess now has normal teeth ... for a while!! I spoke to the vet about removing them and she said it is def an option. At first she was a bit undecided, she said she has removed front teeth before, I don't think she is too keen on doing it, it does sound bit horrible! I guess there must be a bit of tugging like with our teeth! Then we discussed it a bit further, she said they normally keep them in overnight, dose them up with pain relief etc. By end of consult she said that yep can do it, and to have think about it, so that's good.

Obv Princess fine for now + may leave it until the New Year if all OK. Am not going to be at home enough to give her the after care needed until at least Dec 10th - got some dog sitting commitments and behaviour course to attend so I was thinking it's not sensible to have it done until I have the time to give her the care she will need and also so I can get a week off work so I can keep an eye on her. How long did it take other people's rabbits to recover?

Nicola
 
Hi my mini lop had to have his incisors burred every month and I hated the thought of having them removed. But it got to the stage where it was making his back teeth out of alignment and so decided i really had no option. He was not eating after the op but I asked if I could collect him and once he was home with the dogs he ate straight away and has been so much better since the op. He eats his dried food and I cut his greens in strips and he manages really well. He was never a big hay eater but I cut hay in pieces and mix it in with his Allen and Page herb n fibre. He seems so much better without his teeth. Good luck with your bun!!! Pam.
 
i agree with everyone really, tobey had his incisors and peg teeth removed after a few months of regular burring, i didn't like all the sedation he was having (and it was costing me £90 a month) so i decided it would be best for him to have them removed.

he recovered really well and really didn't notice it to be honest. he was much much better afterwards and his molars wore right down after the incisors were gone and they have been nice and healthy ever since.

he still eats his soft poos with no problem, eats his pellets and leaves no problem (i have to tear up large leaves of greens and grate carrots).

although his upper 2 PEG teeth have grown back - a nightmare! they said if they don't grow back in 2 months they never will, but this was after about 7 months - so do be aware, although i don't think this has happened to anyone elses bun on here? so is obv a rareity. but the peg teeth won't cause him a problem.

so all in all my advice is it is best to get them removed or they will be a constant worry! tobey once was hospitalised with gi stasis and his teeth had only been burred about 3 weeks before and i thought they were fine! so they can be a big problem, so best to get them removed i think....


good luck :)
 
Casper is having his teeth removed again! :roll:

Guess there's always a chance they miss a bit of the root..but Eve's vet is redoing it for free...

But he's such a happy bun..when you see the state He was in when Eve got him you wouldn't believe it was the same bun...
 
In my experience with Alice, recovery time after she had her teeth removed was not long at all. I think she had a day or so when her mouth was a bit sore, but she had pain relief. Then she was back to eating normally again.

It's the same as every other op really, it just depends on how quickly your bun tends to bounce back. Alice is a bit of a robot bunny because she seems to be fine a few hours later, with the exception of her eye op but that was pretty major!!

I don't see a problem with waiting until you can devote proper bunny time as long as her teeth are fine in the mean time.

Gemma
 
Thanks for all the positive stories, I am worrying about it as it means an op, but I know in the long run it will be best for her.

Vet did say about possibility of teeth growing back, but guess that is a risk that we have to take!

Gemma, her teeth are fine at mo and I don't think vet would have mentioned it if I hadn't asked her. She has them burred about once a month at the mo, so will have them done beginning of Dec and then talk to my vet again about it and see when is a convinient time. The vet said that obv if the time span between burrings went down to 2 or 3 weeks, then it would be more urgent to get them out but at the mo once a month is OK. I have noticed though that they are def growing quicker - at the beginning of her problems, it was def 6-8 weeks between burrings.
Recovery wise, Princess seems to recover well from GA's, she def did from her last dental, but obv that was just molars being done.

Approx how much does it cost? I know it varies from vet to vet but I may be able to work out an average from everybody's experiences on here!! The money isn't really a problem but with Xmas coming up I want to be able to afford it without struggling too much - am not sure if insurance would cover it?

Everybody I have spoken to have said that she will be much happier with them out!! I'm inclined to agree, I just know I'll be a worrying bunny Mummy on the day of the op!!

Nicola
 
It is extremely common for them to grow back. It is unlikely all of them will, but odds are one will. I have three rabs in the rescue with no front teeth and for each it took two dentals to make them stay gone. I have another that will have his removed as soon as he puts on enough weight. His front teeth were so long that he couldn't eat or drink when he arrived :cry: They have been burred for the meantime, but they still stick out of his mouth :roll: He is called Cheshire (Cat).
Removal is the best option longterm, although it is worth trying a few burrs to see if they will realign if they aren't too bad. Sam's were dreadful when he arrived, but his toothy pegs have realigned, no probs for months now 8)
 
My Alfie has no front teeth
He has been so much better since he had them removed,he even eats hay now which he never did before
 
nicolar said:
Have heard such good things about her that I think she will be my choice of vets if it comes to that! My best friend lives near Twickenham so am used to going over there and it's not really too far - only 40 mins or so. Will update later though once I've spoken to my vet.

Princess only has 1 molar on each of her bottom jaws (vet found this in Feb when she had a dental under GA) - so am not sure whether she actually has enough teeth there to eat hay!! Bless her!!

Nicola

Christabel is the vet ARC use and certainly has removed quite a number of ARC rabbits front teeth over the years, if you are coming from a distance away the vet is happy to let you drop them off the night before if you want to. (If I am working on a day when any of my fosters are booked in I often do this). Another option would be to use the vets that Greenfields use in just outside Bracknell, I am sure they would also have lots of experience in this. You could always check with Lorna about her experience with this vet and removal of front teeth.
 
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