How can dental disease occur?

Dental disease most often occurs as a result of inappropriate diet, leading to improper wear of the teeth, particularly the cheek teeth.

Other ways dental disease can occur, include:

• Trauma to the skull or teeth
  
• An overbite or underbite (common in smaller breeds)
  
• Pain or neurological disease causing improper chewing
  

As rabbits are a prey species, they are very good at hiding clinical signs of pain or illness until the degree of illness is severe. This means that rabbits with mild dental disease may not show any signs of illness. However, if any level of dental disease is left untreated, it will gradually advance and result in an increasingly serious health problem.

Signs associated with dental disease in rabbits include:

• Reduced appetite, difficulty eating or selective eating (particularly with foods they would normally eat)
  
• Tooth grinding
  
• Weight loss
  
• Excessive drooling or wetness underneath the chin
  
• Nasal discharge
  
• Eye discharge
  
• Poopy bottom
  
• Change in faecal output, appearance or size
  
• Gastrointestinal stasis
  
• Not liking their head touched
  
• Facial swelling
  

What are the signs of dental disease?

How can I help prevent dental disease?

The best prevention of dental disease is a high fibre diet. Rabbits require a diet that consists of 80-90% grass or good quality hay, to encourage teeth to move in a proper grinding motion that adequately wears down their teeth. A high fibre diet not only promotes oral health, it is vital for digestive health!

A diet high in fruit or pallets is often a major contributor to dental disease. These foods encourage an up-and-down chewing motion, resulting in improper wear and formation of dental spurs.

As with any kind of disease or illness, early detection helps in providing the best outcome for your rabbit. Rabbits are very good at masking pain and disease, so if you notice any slight changes, it may be time for a check-up!

how is dental disease diagnosed?

During your rabbit’s routine examination, the veterinarian will check the incisors and the cheek teeth using an otoscope. A conscious examination provides a basic idea of the rabbit’s dental health, however is usually limited due to:

• The rabbit chewing and the tongue obstructing examination
  
• Only the crowns above the gum can be assessed
  

If dental disease is suspected, your veterinarian will likely recommend a sedation for an oral examination and imaging, such as X-rays or a CT scan. A sedation allows the vet to get a thorough assessment of your pet’s mouth, without the difficulties of a conscious exam.

Imaging is a valuable diagnostic tool that allows vets to assess the crowns below the gumline. It is important that this part of your rabbit’s dentition is checked as some dental disease can occur below the gumline, such as retrograde growth or dental abscesses.

Retrograde growth occurs when the teeth are no longer able to grow upwards, so they start being pushed backwards into the jaw, or towards the eyes and nose. This is the reason that symptoms associated with the eyes or nose can be present in rabbits with dental disease.

How is dental disease treated?

Treatment will depend on the cause of the dental disease, and the symptoms present.

In the case of primary incisor overgrowth (secondary to an improper bite), extraction of these teeth are recommended. While regular burring (trimming of the tooth) will maintain the bite, problems may still arise when the teeth grow too long and the cheek teeth are pushed apart. This results in an overgrowth of the cheek teeth, leading to more severe dental disease.

The majority of dental disease will be seen as spurs on the cheek teeth (jagged, pointy tips that rub against the cheek). Spurs are essentially a form of overgrown teeth as a result of improper tooth grinding. In this case, the rabbit will require a general anaesthetic to have the spurs burred down, to alleviate pain and allow the rabbit to properly grind their teeth again. Unfortunately, depending on the degree of dental disease, this is a procedure that may be necessary to be repeated for the rest of the rabbit’s life. A check-up every 4-6 weeks is recommended to stay on top of any potential overgrowth.

treating dental abscesses in rabbits

In the case of a dental abscess, extraction of the offending tooth is recommended. The abscess will likely require marsupialisation – this is where as much of the abscess is surgically removed and the skin is stitched to the edge of the abscess, leaving the crater of the wound open. This allows for regular, ongoing cleaning of the abscess in hope that the infection can be eliminated before the skin heals over.