11 year old rabbit dental

Hello,

I was just hoping to get some peoples opinions. I have an 11 year old rabbit who has never required a dental up until now. I took her to the vets on Saturday and they found that she has malocclusion of her molars. The vet also said that this has started to cause some ulceration on her tounge. The vet gave me the option of either doing a dental under anaesthetic with the obvious risks for her age involved or not doing anything for now but keeping her on Loxicom (which she is on anyway for a separate condition) and closely monitoring her for any changes. In herself she is bright and still as active as usual. She is on painkiller as I say so hopefully not in any pain. She is eating veggies and nuggets well but is eating slightly less hay than usual. She has also been dribbling a bit and one of her eyes is a bit runny.

From what Ive read just leaving her and monitoring for changes isn't a great idea as the longer the teeth get the more problems this can lead to even if she is on painkiller. So that suggests that its best to deal with it now which is what I think I'm going to do.

However, I just wanted to check that this is right. With her age and the risks involved with anaesthetic I don't want to do anything unless its completely necessary.

I hope that all makes sense and thanks in advance for the help.

Hi & welcome to the forum.

Its not always unreasonable to just keep an eye on spurs but I would say the exceptions are if the bun is eating differently or showing any other signs (in your girls case dribbling)
In your shoes I'd go for the GA & accept the elevated risks associated with age. I think the pain of the ulcers will get worse without intervention & she will likely eat less & go downhill.Bloods including kidney function could be useful first as I believe this might impact on amount of anaesthetic used

Good luck with your decision

joey&boo said:

Hi & welcome to the forum.

Its not always unreasonable to just keep an eye on spurs but I would say the exceptions are if the bun is eating differently or showing any other signs (in your girls case dribbling)
In your shoes I'd go for the GA & accept the elevated risks associated with age. I think the pain of the ulcers will get worse without intervention & she will likely eat less & go downhill.Bloods including kidney function could be useful first as I believe this might impact on amount of anaesthetic used

Good luck with your decision

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Ditto

Best wishes for whatever you decide to do x

Another ditto.

Rabbit teeth grow continually. If they are already causing ulceration, etc, they are not going to improve without being reshaped. Most bunnies bounce back quite quickly after a dental. Losing her under anaesthetic is a low possibility (assuming bloods are OK), but a risk worth taking, versus the slow misery of overgrown teeth, not eating, losing weight, stasis, etc. Also worth doing sooner while she's as good as she can be, and before other issues creep up to complicate the recovery.

I have a rabbit with some spurs. She is being monitored and they are not getting worse or causing any issues (yet), so we are going to continue to monitor both the teeth and her weight / eating. She will get them sorted as soon as it becomes an issue. I've had a 9 year old undergo regular dentals under anaesthetic.

If your vet isn't experienced in rabbit dentals, they may be able to refer you to someone who is, just to give her the best chance. She may also have x-rays done at the same time to see what the roots are doing, as it's affecting her eye.

Hi welcome and sorry to hear that your bunny is having dental issues. I absolutely agree with the advice given above, better to get it done before the issue gets worse. Let us know how she gets on, good luck.

Thank you so much to everyone who replied. I really appreciate such kind and helpful advice. Yes I agree that its probably best to address it now given that she's showing symptoms but its nice to know that you all would agree as I really want to make sure I'm doing the right thing for her. I will book her in for it this week so will let you know how it all goes.

Thanks again for the replies you are all stars!

I thinks its the right decision. Best of luck & yes please, let us know how she gets on

Every bunny is different and there is always risk with any ga, yet I had ga done on a few older bunnies with success. Your bunny already has an ulcer and is eating less hay even while on pain relievers, so a dental is an appropriate option .