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Pips Teeth - update July

Mervinius

Mervinius

Mama Doe
Hey,

So Pip had her front teeth burred for the first time about 5 weeks ago. She's 4 years old and not had a problem before, her back teeth were fine.

She had a free checkup booked for Thursday to check after 6 weeks, with the hope they would grow back straight. Unfortunately this got cancelled due to the virus.

She just yawned and I'm insure one of her lower front teeth has started to grow longer than the other. :-(

I can't see anything when her mouth is closed and she is not a pickable bun, so had for me to check! I'm going to keep an eye for the next yawn....

(She's not in any pain and munching hay like normal)

But I have two questions

1.Can a rabbits teeth suddenly, become misaligned after 4 years?

2.If I'm right and they are misaligning again. When is the right time to take her back to have them burred again?

. X
 
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I'm sorry to hear Pips tushy pegs still seem to be growing off. I really don't have any answers for but if the vet who saw her for her dental is still working I'd call them & see what they advice. Loads of vibes. its a horrible time for our pets to have medical concerns :(
 
1. Rabbit teeth can misalign from any age. There are many reasons it happens, eg. Sometimes it is congenital, other cases are due to poor diet, abscesses, or simply due to age
2. I would contact your vet and ask their opinion. Maybe take a photo or video to show them the problem, so a more informed decision can be made.

I had a rabbit that had to have his front teeth burred about every 2 weeks at one point, whereas others with molar issues could wait months to a year between treatments. Often they settle into a pattern and you know when to get them booked in. If the rabbit can be treated without sedation, it is a quick procedure, although most will require sedation for what is otherwise a stressful procedure for them. Sedation will require a longer stay and recovery time.

Checking a dental rabbit's weight weekly gives a good indication when they are not eating enough as there will be a continued loss, and therefore they are due a dental. With the front teeth it is also easier to see the extent of the problem.
 
Dex has to go get his front teeth and back teeth done on average every 4-5 weeks so as Shimmer says you'll get to understand the pattern. But an indication of when to go get the teeth checked up at the vets is if you notice any change in diet. I would be quick to the vets if that happens...

If Pip is happy and eating normally then I wouldn't be too concerned right now...just keep a close eye on her :)
 
I would give the Vet a call and see what they advise. You dont really want to wait til his eating slows down/stops as that will make it more likely he may develop secondary gut motility problems. Personally I'd monitor Pip's output carefully. Small poo/less poo usually occurs before changes in eating. It is unlikely that a Rabbit would develop a congenital Incisor Malocclusion at the age of 4, the condition is likely to be acquired as opposed to inherited (genetic). Many factors can contribute to a Rabbit developing Acquired Incisor Malocclusion as well as dietary issues. These links may be useful to take a look at

https://www.mypetsdentist.com/rabbit-incisor-malocclusion.pml

https://www.vetstream.com/treat/lapis/freeform/dental-malocclusion-overgrowth

https://www.harcourt-brown.co.uk/me...diographs/3acquired-incisor-malocclusion/view

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Differential/Rabbit_dentistry.pdf
 
Thanks everyone for all the information. I've read all those links now, thanks Jane.

So Pip has always eaten loads of hay and has excellent sized poops. Large golden boulders.

They have a teeny amount of pellets and dried forage.

Her back teeth were checked and they were fine. So I don't think it can be diet related.

It's just her lower left tooth and upper left.

She has always had a teeny overlap in her bottom teeth. With the left tooth being slightly infront/overlapped. Where as Archie has superb nashers.

The vet who is less rabbit savvy said her jaw will move as she ages? But she's 4, so surely she would have stopped growing by now. She's a Nethie, but I think any genetic issues would have shown up by now. I also wouldn't describe her as a senior rabbit like the vet.

I am going to phone the vet for a chat because I don't want to wait for her to be in pain like last time. Just got to see I'm the teeny mouth of hers.
 
I hope the vet is able to come up with a plan of action. It's a rotten time for all this to happen.

If it's any consolation, one of my rabbits, Fudgie, is also a brilliant hay eater but one of her molars is at an angle. It hasn't caused any issues yet *touches wood* but is something we have to monitor as it could do so in the future. This was actually picked up by a specialist doing a routine examination and she said sometimes these things just happen. It's just bad luck that some bunnies have a bit of wonkiness going on with their teeth and it sounds like this is what's happening in Pip's case.

Sent from my SM-T585 using Tapatalk
 
Update...I've spoken to the vets. They can't treat her until it's an emergency [emoji17][emoji3525]

She's still eating and has no signs on pain. So I have to wait for it to get worse.

I checked her teeth with some clever treat giving. The lower left is definitely too long. Other one looks perfect. I'd say it's about 6mm too long. I guess the top is curving in, but I can't see that.
 
Don't forget that a rabbit who isn't eating properly IS an emergency. Have they given you an indication if when they may consider taking her in? Front teeth grow quite quickly. You don't want her losing weight and risking stasis etc, as that will be harder to deal with. Maybe check again next week and ring up again - the vet may change their mind about it if you are ringing regularly.
 
Shimmer said:
Don't forget that a rabbit who isn't eating properly IS an emergency. Have they given you an indication if when they may consider taking her in? Front teeth grow quite quickly. You don't want her losing weight and risking stasis etc, as that will be harder to deal with. Maybe check again next week and ring up again - the vet may change their mind about it if you are ringing regularly.
Click to expand...

Ditto !

My Vet specifically states this on the Surgery Covid 19 info page x
 
Yeah I agree not eating is an emergency! I won't leave it to that point. I think a few more days and she'll have difficulty picking up food, and then I'll call. I'm wary of the Easter hols and I don't want to have to use our emergency vet.

They asked if she was eating and pooping, so I guess that's the criteria.

They did apologise and obviously wouldn't normally refuse.
 
My late Dancer had malocclusion of her front teeth. At first vet had to trim upper and lower incisors. After a few trimmings vet only needed to trim upper incisors every 6 weeks. She did not need sedation, just tech to hold her and skilled vet. I usually gave medicam for day or two after trim.
If I waited 7 weeks between trimmings she sometimes stopped eating and did not resume as quickly following trim.
Having medicam, recovery food,and possibly fluids on hand may be good.
 
Update on Pip.

She got bad gas and refused food for 2 hours of Sunday night. We got her eating again and left it until today as she was eating and pooping well. Took her to the vets first thing for emergency tooth trimming.

Got a call early afternoon to say her teeth weren't overgrown at all. This is all very odd, and the vet even sent me photos.

I don't know whether me and my OH imagined her tooth growing too long?

Or whether it weirdly chipped off to be the right height.

The vet said there is a slight chip in the one I was worried about. But it's nothing and will wear out as she chews.

I swear her tooth was about 8mm too long.

Feeling like we've gone bananas or woken up in a different universe.

Good news is Pip is fine and weirdly seemed to enjoy her day at the vets. [emoji1787]
190e111bf06507e070a2b23f29f50637.jpg
 
I’m glad that she is ok. Strange you both thought she had an overgrown tooth, myself and my OH both thought our dog had a broken claw the other month and he didn’t :lol:
 
Oh Pip. Maybe she was checking out whether Princesses can still access vet care in these desperate times. I've had more insane moments than normal re: my rabbits lately. at least she is doing well
 
You both may not be imagining things. When my spouse brought our late Dancer home her lowers were so long they looked like tusks. We got her to vets within a few days and they broke off so vet smoothed chips and trimmed uppers.
 
bunny momma said:
You both may not be imagining things. When my spouse brought our late Dancer home her lowers were so long they looked like tusks. We got her to vets within a few days and they broke off so vet smoothed chips and trimmed uppers.
Click to expand...
Oh that's interesting. They broke if at the vets as they were looking at them?
 
Mervinius said:
Oh that's interesting. They broke if at the vets as they were looking at them?
Click to expand...
They broke on their own before we arrived at the vet.
When we got Dancer we were told we could clip her teeth ourselves. That was so wrong. However, with my work schedule, I purchased a tool with same speed vet used and even got same burr as vet. It was hard to do -keeping her lips and tongue out of the way while trimming teeth and keeping her from swallowing clippings. It took us three times as long so Dancer was moving around more too. Within a short time we went back to vet for all her trimmings.
It is good to get trimmings done before they break because one of Dancers teeth broke off so low it bleed, so needed vet to remove rough edges and cover abx so she did not get infection.
It did not take long for us to know how often she needed regular trimmings.
 
I guess it's just going to be a case of trying to keep an eye on how her Incisors are growing and as bunny momma says, try to get them attended too before they break if possible. I am glad that Pip is doing OK for now :D
 
Yeah it's a tricky situation because the vets weren't allowed to see her until it became an emergency! I have no idea whether it chipped or if somehow we were looking at her teeth wrong. It wasn't sticking out of her mouth so it's hard to tell.

I'm going to keep an eye over the next 6 weeks and see what happens.
 
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