Dental Problem

[Mayor_of_Bunsville]

Hi all,

Our beautiful dwarf lop Doll is 2 years old, a house bun and bonded to a wonderful husbun.

A few weeks ago she was showing signs of stress when eating such as sticking her tongue out repeatedly, swallowing loudly and trying to clear her mouth with her hands. She then stopped eating so we took her to our rabbit savvy vet (we have just one, we had already taken her to see the only other vet available at the time who said there was nothing wrong) and he explained she had a molar spur that would need removing as it was cutting her tongue. This was 6 weeks ago. She recovered incredibly well from her op and was back to her old, food demolishing self in a few days.

A few days ago she seemed to be sticking her tongue out a lot and struggling again. She now is wiping her mouth with her hands again and definitely struggling when she eats certain things, we have an appointment with our rabbit savvy vet booked for Tuesday but I am getting stressed about it so thought I was ask if anyone else has experienced anything similar.

Doll eats constantly, she eats grass and lots of different types of hay all day and night, she loves her veggies which she gets twice a day too. I don’t understand how she could have developed another spur in 6 weeks. I’m assuming it can’t be the same spur as before as that was removed and that was confirmed on her checkup so I’m just confused as to why she is in this position again

I’m really worried that she will have to go under again to have another op to remove another spur which seems ridiculous just 6 weeks in from the last one.

[Bam]

It could be her teeth again. Sometimes it takes a few trims to get things right. I know I’ve read an article about this, I’ll try to find it.
Diet is important for bunny teeth, but a misalignment of the jaws may often have a genetic basis. It’s not uncommon in bunnies, probably because they are bred young, before any teeth-problems have become apparent. In nature bunnies with these issues don’t survive long.

[Sarita]

I’m going to move this to the Q&A and I absolutely agree about the teeth – have the vet check them again – some rabbits will have lifelong dental problems.

[Bam]

I’m sorry but I can’t find the article I was thinking of where it said molars may need to be re-trimmed after about 6 weeks, but I know I did read it and it was a good, scientific article.

I have a rabbit that have had to have molar trims twice, 6 months apart. There is a member here who has her bunny’s teeth checked and trimmed every 3 months, and not that long ago, when she took him for his regular check-up, he had developed a molar spur that penetrated his tongue so that part of the tongue had to be surgically removed. (The bunny hadn’t shown any signs of pain or reluctance to eat.) So rabbit teeth grow very fast and as you know, they grow all the rabbit’s life.

So you should see your vet again about her teeth and do what you can to make her eat as much hay as possible, because that’s about the only preventive measure you can take yourself. The role of (dietary) calcium in dental disease has been (and is) discussed, but it seems the jury is still out on that one.

Here is another article on rabbit dental problems, it’s by the HRS (an approved source):
http://rabbit.org/dental-disorders-in-rabbits/

You will find lots more if you google, because this is, unfortunately, a very common problem in pet bunnies.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Rupert gets spurs, likely due to jaw changes brought on by age and bone density. He’s due every three months, and as I understand it this is routine once it crops up. Likely you will have to schedule regular molar levelings

Essentially rabbits have teeth that grow all the time (constant eruption) and if they don’t wear down by opposing each other (being perfectly aligned) they will get sharp spots (molar spurs) that need to be filed down. I’d think if you encountered this once, it will be a regular thing It’s not fun-my rabbit has to see a dentist about 1.5 hours away, now we’re in our second year of this so I hire someone to take him so I don’t have to miss work every three months for the vet. Not fun or cheap but has to be done! 

[jerseygirl]

She now is wiping her mouth with her hands again and definitely struggling when she eats certain things, we have an appointment with our rabbit savvy vet booked for Tuesday but I am getting stressed about it so thought I was ask if anyone else has experienced anything similar.

What foods are a challenge? Sounds as if she loves her food also! Does she need to slow down?

If she does need another trim, have your vet thoroughly look over the oral tissues. Or did he do this during the last op?
It’s great you’ve got a rabbit savvy vet.

If she has progressive dental disease, it unfortunately can be high maintenance for a while but can level off later on.

[Sarita]

Yes, dental problems rarely go away – my rabbit gets a dental trim every 3 months…he has no lower left molars due to a dental abscess.

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