Lop owners, has your rabbit had any dentals?

I've been told that because Doughnut's face is so flat due to her breed, she is probably going to have to have some dental treatment at some point.

I just wondered when your rabbit had it's first dental and then how often does it need doing. Also if you have a lop and haven't had a dental how old is your rabbit. Just wondering if there is an age when it's likely to start happening or is it the luck of the draw.

Nope, so far my 3 have had perfect teeth! But they do eat insane amounts of hay as I'm stingy with other food options!

I have had a lop with bad teeth but that was front teeth not molars and it was due to a terrible diet in a previous home, she never had any issues eating but the roots overgrew and caused all sorts of trouble. Once they had been removed she had no more toothy trouble!

Wow that's good. Yes Doughnut eats a lot of hay but like you say she only gets a bit of muesli and I also pick grass for her.

TBH I have found no rhyme or reason. Good dentition is often determined at birth, and with the diet given in the first few months. I've had uppy eared rabbits with terrible teeth and lops that have never had a dental in 9/10 years.

Get some good genes in there, and you've a healthy rabbit

What I would say though, is lots of fibre (aka hay/readigrass/grass) will really really help a dental bun (provided their teeth will cope with it). It may very well stretch the intervals between burring down the molars.

Probably not any more info than you already knew!

Mischa had a dental because another vet thought he saw spurs but Mark couldn't find much when he did it and he didn't need any after that. Mini got a tiny spur after Mischa died because she didn't eat as much hay but Mark saw how reluctant I was to put Mini under GA after loosing Mischa under GA so suggested we start with metacam and trying to get her to eat more hay and that sorted it.

Harley is a lop bunny and he has had two dentals.

The first time was because he kept going into stasis every 6-8 weeks and the vet said he has some small spurs and I think he was two/three years old.

The second time was last year when he was four. Again we had two episodes of stasis close together and he went in for a dental and was eating by the evening.

I think the amour of time between dentals varies between each bun, I know some have to have them 6-8 weeks but with harlye we have ben lucky that it has been 1-2 years.

He is a good hay eater and we try and keep that topped up so that he wears the spurs down.

Skye was a french lop and she had a dental at the rescue before I rehomed her, but never needed one after that (I suppose she may have done later on, but in the 14 months she was with me she didn't need another).

My two lionlops (little so minilop x) both don't have great teeth and every time a vet inspects them they have small spurs, but they haven't been serious enough to need a dental yet and I just encourage them to eat as much hay as possible to prolong the first dental...but they are likely to need them at some point.

Noah my french lop x conti I was told by one vet he had spurs and needed a dental, then the next vet who looked said his teeth were perfect :? so who knows!

Eli was a french lop, he never had a dental but died when he was around 3.5
Mack (french lop) is about 2 years and hasn't had a dental as yet but he did have slight spurs when he came to me (likely due to poor diet as they sorted themselves out)

These are all dwarf lops:
Artie never needed a dental and lived to 8 years 9 months.
Esme, Erin, Tinkerbell all around 7.5 have never needed dentals.
Dinky has been with me from age 5 to now aged 8 and hasn't needed any... Rudy had one dental aged one (straight after adopting him) and is now over 8 years with no further problems.
Elijah nearly 6 shock .. no dentals, Binky 5 no dentals.

In fact, I can't fill in 'the' survey because despite having a 'thing' for lops they've not had dentals.

Re lops - I'm actually much more worried about ear problems now than I am dentals. I'm much more assuming it is inevitable at some point that one of them will need an ear canal resection or such.

Boo is my only lop, past or present. She is only 2 yrs, no dentals
Mouse is mainly uppy earred, 4 yrs (ish), no dentals.
Joe: v. uppy earred & just had 1st dental this week boo hoo (minor spurs on cheek teeth) He is 4.5 yrs

Bunny Buddy said:

Re lops - I'm actually much more worried about ear problems now than I am dentals. I'm much more assuming it is inevitable at some point that one of them will need an ear canal resection or such.

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Very good point, my two had no real dental problems but Mischa had a LOT of ear problems. I get paranoid with Mini now and I am always asking the vets to check them.

Charlie is 7 and 4ish months and hasn't had a dental yet. He does have slight spurs but they're not enough to bother him. He will need a dental at some point though.

Toffee and Treacle, 2 1/2 year old dwarf lops, both had 1 dental. Toffee has a misaligned jaw, so doesn't wear teeth down evenly, this is going to be an ongoing problem for him. They both get unlimited hay, but he has difficulty eating it with back molars.

When I took them for their checkups Saturday, we discovered both rabbits have molar hooks. Lopsy, the lop, has great teeth but one hook on the right side. he doesn't have the classic flat lop face though: it's flatter than normal but still kinda pointy. Aboleth though, the 'normal' rabbit, her teeth are "all over the place", poor thing! She has a number of hooks but we've had no trouble yet. But at least I know where to start when she stops eating! She didn't eat much hay when she arrived but she eats more now, still not as much as Lopsy though. But she seems to eat less of everything :lol: Loves a good chew of tough sticks though

Thanks everyone, it's really interesting. I didn't think of ear problems, doh!

My bridge bunny Herbie was a lop with a 'squashed' face. He started with dentals at 18 months old, at best he went 6 weeks between dentals and at worst it was 2-3 weeks. Despite the numerous GAs throughout his life, he lived to 7 years old. His molars were very misaligned due to the shape of his skull and jaw.

My Roo is also a lop with the same shape head/face as Herbie, he started having dentals at 2 years old. Currently he needs a dental every 5-6 months.

I have two lop sisters, Poppy & Pansy, who are 7 years old and have never needed a dental. They have a fairly 'squashed' face, but not as much as Herbie & Roo.

Sugar is uppy eared and has a more natural 'wildie' shaped face. She is 7 and has had one dental (at 4 years old)

Pepper and Nutmeg are uppy eared and have slightly flatter faces. They are 5 years old and both have had 2 dentals. Can't remember exactly when their dentals were without checking (at work at the moment), but they were spaced well apart, so probably around a year. Their sister Saffron hasn't needed a dental yet, but her face is more pointed.

All my rabbits have a very good diet. I don't feed treats and they only have a small portion of pellets. They have herbs/forage/veg and loads of hay, so the dental issues I've had aren't diet related.

The experience I've had with my rabbits is that those with a flatter face have tended to have more problematic molars. It is just my experience though....maybe I'm just a magnet for dental buns. :lol: There will be lots of lop bunnies who never have a problem in their lives, or only ever need the occasional dental, so I guess it's just luck of the draw. When Herbie was referred to FHB she did say to me that the shape of a lop's skull/jaw did make them more prone to developing dental issues, but Poppy & Pansy prove that there are exceptions (so far anyway!!).

I think I must be lucky so far regarding dentals then as Doughnut's face is really flat. I've had enough trouble with her digestion so at least I've been given a break in that department. Here's one side on when she was a baby showing how flat it is!

Blossom is very similar looking to Doughnut - gorgeous buns - and is a NIGHTMARE with his teeth and now abscesses!!!!

Glad Doughnut isn't suffering with her teeth! xxx

Finn's face is really flat and he's got perfect teeth, whereas Milo has a longer face and I've been told he already had spurs. I will have to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't affect his eating. ATM they aren't bothering him or rubbing his mouth or tongue. x

BerryJane said:

Blossom is very similar looking to Doughnut - gorgeous buns - and is a NIGHTMARE with his teeth and now abscesses!!!!

Glad Doughnut isn't suffering with her teeth! xxx

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Ah let's see a photo

How old did the teeth issues start? It seems to be pot luck. Doughnuts on constant medication now for her digestion and acid reflux so I'm pleased she hasn't suffered from her teeth yet, as she's gone through quite a lot.