Desperate! need advice

[Bee]

This is my first visit to this forum. I am in desperate straights.  I have a rescued lion head dwarf rabbit. He’s had dental problems since about 6 months after we adopted him.  His front teeth were maloccluded and we have been taking him once a month for over 2 years for incisor trims.  He stopped eating hay last week and started to show signs of not feeling well.  Our regular vet referred us to a specialist and we took him in. They did a full exam, xrays and they found that his molars are beginning to ingrow into his mandible and they trimmed a spur that had overgrown into his tongue.  This cost us 1000 dollars out of the blue.  We put the cost on a credit card, otherwise we could not have done it.  The prognosis appears to be open ended-we could have to do this every 3-6 months.  That is only the trimming of the overgrown molars and does not address the problems ingrown molars into the mandible could cause–abscesses, tooth extraction.  I need honest information from anyone who has any.  The specialist are very talented but they do not necessarily understand the reality of literally not having 1000 dollars to spend that often and of our concern about our boy’s quality of life.  He’s very skittish, hates being handled and this whole thing has been hellish on him.   Does anyone know the general prognosis in this situation? We want to give him the best care but we are not wealthy and we also want him to have a good quality of life.  Any information would be appreciated. Thank you very much.

[BB & Tiny]

Wow that would be frustrating both financially and in terms of quality of life, not to mention stress on the bun. I have no information to offer but I hope someone on the forum does

[Bee]

thank you Bunlov–I hope someone has some advice as well.  I am speaking to my regular vet and a specialist tomorrow to see if they can help as well. 

[LBJ10]

What was the $1000 for, exactly?

[Bee]

Thanks for replying.  It was 1000 dollars to do a full dental exam, with xrays, blood work for the dental procedure and then the procedure and medicines.  These would all be required for any dental work as they put the bunnies under for all dental procedures (as they should).  They are a reputable place–other things I have read online have quoted similar prices and I even read a post on here with a lady in Australia in a very similar situation.  Her bunny had overgrown molars and had to have the same procedure.  I should add that he’s always been very thin and picky about hay.  I have tried everything–herbs in the hay, buying different kinds of hay.  When I adopted him he was living in a tiny cage, in smoke filled house and eating alfalfa and Kaytee pellets with a bunch of junk in them. We improved his condition within a month–eyes were bright, eating better.  I believe a lot of this dental stuff is genetic–he’s a dwarf and has a predisposition to tooth overgrowth.  He had been through 2 other people before me and I have no idea how old he is.  He’s had his bottom incisors removed sometime before we got him (we don’t know why other than overgrowth).  His top incisors were removed in this surgery (they only charged 60 dollars for that) to prevent him from having to get them trimmed monthly but that does not address the molar tooth overgrowth and ingrowth. They said that the molars were beginning to ingrow into the mandible.   Please correct me if I am wrong–I have been reading tirelessly but everything I have read indicates that this molar overgrowth can not only lead to more molars needing to be trimmed (that surgery is what cost 1000 dollars) but also things like abscesses, loose teeth and the same problems we are having where he’s not eating enough hay to stave off GI stasis.  It’s like a big circus of bad–and we would be willing to go throw hoops to make his life good–but there is a point where you will not be able to come up with the money.  It’s like a nightmare. 

[Author]

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