If you check out the monthly care section above under BUNNY INFO, you can see a picture of normal bunny teeth. They should not overlap and if your bun isn’t chewing that may be a sign that their are other underlying problem like spurs on the molars which will need to be dignosed by a vet as it takes a special magnifying tool called an otoscope to see them. When was the last time she saw a vet?  Does she still eat hay and pellets OK?

Hello! I am dealing with teeth issues myself. For me, I just noticed that they looked different, which is actually a pretty good clue. CJ wasn’t really having trouble eating, but it did start taking him longer to eat things. I had sheduled a nail trim and had them look at it after that. They trimmed them, suspecting that he had just knocked out his top teeth (making his bottom teeth long without anything to rub against). So, I would get it looked at if you have suddenly noticed that they look different for some reason. Can you get a good look at the mouth? Also, to answer your other question, my understanding is that they need their teeth to rub together, that chew toys don’t help much. Really only teeth grind down the teeth.

So now I have a question for anyone who has delt with this before… I was hoping it wasn’t a problem of missallignment, that as the vet had said he prolly just knocked them out. However, his bottom ones are long again, and I’m now away from my normal vet for the holidays. I can get them trimmed, but my question is this: what would cause top teeth to very slowly grow back? There is actually now a gap between the front teeth, though he hadn’t had a problem before. Has this happened to anyone else?

CaptJack – I have never had a bunny with those kinds of teeth problems, so I only direct you to some articles that might be helpful.  Perhaps someone else will come along and have more info to share.
http://www.exoticpetvet.net/smanimal/bunnyteeth.html

or

http://www.mybunny.org/info/dental_problems.htm

CaptJackRabbit. I think I am confused. So are you saying that he doesn’t have top incisors? I know you said you went in for a nail trim, but then you talked about teeth. Maybe it’s just late, and I just sleepy, but I am just not sure what you mean.

chinphat – Normally teeth wear down just by eating. Sometimes it’s recommended to get bunnies who have a misalignment to try and chew on stuff to help, but really the wearing down happens more with just normal chewing on food. If your bunnies teeth are long, it’s not due to not chewing on wood blocks, it most likely means some sort of teeth issues. Rucy has a slight misalignment, and she has to get her trimmed 3-4 times a year, but each bunny is different. Some need it often every month or so, while others can go many months. Teeth can grow into the gums, and can be painful. Does your bunnies eyes ever water?

The other thing you have to watch out for is many times when you are seeing a misalignment in the incisors, like Scarlet said, there will also be back teeth problems too. So take your bunny to a rabbit savvy vet so they can see the extent of the problem.

You will begin to know over time how often your Noob will need attention.

Leo has TERRIBLE teeth!  His top encisors are two different widths, they also curve in a very unnatural manner.  Unfortunately, even w/ monthly teeth checks, I can’t make out what is going on w/ his rear molars.  I know its time for a tooth trim when he starts to lose weight, decreases his overall food consumption, or gets watery eyes.  The vet also suggested monitoring his chin fur for dried saliva, b/c bunnies w/ bad teeth often drool.  I give Leo plenty to chew on, but the vet thinks its congenital, rather than behavioral.  My big tooth alarm is when he shows no interest in his daily craisin!

Captjack and Skunklionshow

I don’t know what treatment your vets recommend for your bunnies, but I would highly recommend that you ask your vet to remove to incisors. Rabbits don’t need them providing you chop up their greens into smaller pieces, and it saves them having to go through a lot of stress to have their teeth filed every month to six weeks. Obviously this may not help malocclusion with the molars but it does make a difference. I have three rabbits with dental issues all however have perfect incisors. With breeds such as lionheads and dwarfs dental issues are very common so it is always worth having their molars checked by a rabbit savvy vet once or twice a year.

I will ask my vet about the incisors.  I thought that they were necessary teeth b/c incissors bite through the food, rather than mushing it up.  However, I will definately discuss this w/ him.  I want Leo to live a long healthy happy life!

Hi,

  No the incisors are not necessary. I’ve had a bunny who had to have them removed and know plenty of others who don’t have them either. It’s common practice for vets to remove them with rabbits who have malocclusion. It does mean that when given veg you have to chop them into smaller pieces but as the grinding is done by the back teeth it doesn’t really bother them. They become quite well adapted at having to pick up things without teeth! If a rabbit has problems with insicors that involves repeated trims it save a whole lot of stress! 🙂

sorry one other thing that concerns me….you say that even with monthly checks you never know what’s going on with his molars. Does your vet not check them???

I have mine checked every six weeks by the vet using an otoscope. That way they can be monitored and I know if there are problems before the rabbit starts to showing symptoms. I find it hard to rely on them not eating because I know by that point problems can be extensive…and some will still continue to eat!!

Sorry charlie (I couldn’t resist saying that), when I do my monthly bunny maintenance & checks.  When he goes into the vet, they do use an otoscope. However, my vet has a difficult time getting Leo to cooperate w/ the otoscope, specifically when looking at the very last teeth.  Did that make sense at all?

I go back to the vet in a few weeks w/ my diabetic cat.  I’m going to talk to him about the incisors…that would make things much less stressful for the whole family.  I already have to chop up his veggies as well as give him softer veggies b/c of his teeth, so its just as well.  Thank you so much for that input!