Teeth Issues – Support?

[fluffernutterluver]

My wife and I have two bunnies.  One is a Holland Lop who we got from a breeder about 4 years ago and he is in perfect health.  The other is a Dutch who is about the same age that we decided to adopt from the Humane Society after hearing about how many buns were out there without homes.  She is in perfect health with the exception that due to the prveious surroundings the hoarder she came from kept her in has developed molar points.  After taking her to the vet we were told that it would be nearly 500 dollars to trim them.  After asking how often this occurs they said that it could be anywhere from once every couple of years to every 6 weeks depending on the growth rate.  Regardless she would have to go in for vet visits every 3 months for checkups until they pin down the growth rate.

My question is are there any alternative options such as extraction if it is a frequent occurance?  If not, are there any support options out there for helping to pay for something like this?  My wife and I are very stressed over this situation so any help you can provide would be appreciated.

[Sarita]

You do not want to extract molars. I would recommend that you get her to try to eat more hay. However, that being said, did the vet say that her teeth were misaligned or maloccluded – if this is the case, then you are going to have to do regular molar trims but eating lots of hay can possibly help with this as well.

I would look into Care Credit if this is going to be an ongoing issue with her and the cost is $500 which in my opinion seems excessive. My vet charges about $220 per trim (which I think is high too but she knows my rabbits teeth so I continue to go to her). My rabbit Pepe gets his teeth trimmed every 5 weeks.

Ask your vet’s office if they accept Care Credit and they can tell you how it works – if you bill is over $300 (I think), then you can do their “promotion” which basically means that the finance charge is deferred as long as you make the minimum payments each month on time from 3 months to 24 months.

[Sarita]

I guess I should clarify that you do not want to extract molars to rectify this condition (unless of course there is a need like a broken tooth, or diseased tooth) because that can cause the teeth to possibly shift more and cause more problems.

Many times vets will extract incisors if they are a continuing problem, but that is not the case with the molars unless they are infected as I said above.

[fluffernutterluver]

I am not sure how we get her to eat more hay.  They have two litterboxes that are filled each morning.  They recieve greens and pellets in the morning as well but usually eat those at that time.  She does eat hay on her own without problem and there seem to be no impedements for her in other areas (drinking, eating, drooling). 

The vet did say that the Molars were misaligned.  We have an itemized estimate for the procedure that I can post when I get home as I do not have it on me to see where the large price descrepincy comes from.  We live in the Minneapolis, MN/ Hudson, WI area so if anyone has input on good vets that might be more reasonably priced please let us know.

Question for you.  I noticed on another post that you said you get Pepe’s teeth done every 5 months whereas here it says every 5 weeks.  Could you clarify?

Also, in researching the Care Credit it does not appear to be a discount but rather a low interest credit card.  Am I correct on this?  The fees would still be the same, you would just have longer to pay off the debt and potentially at 0% interest?

In my searches I also came across VPI insurance information.  I did not know this existed.  Is this something that would be worthwhile having or is it too late or nto useful for that?

[Karla]

I’ve had a bunny with dental problems as well.

Dental wear is affected by the abrasive nature of the diet. Dental abrasion is caused by silicate phytoliths present in grass (and greens like broccoli, cabbage, celery, bean sprouts among others). From Textbook of rabbit medicine. You will find articles on the abrasive effect of silicate on rabbit teeth everywhere.

So, try to feed as many greens you can with silicate.

My Jack did not like hay either, but eventually he learned to love it. When all his dental problems occured, I started mixing his ordinary hay with delicious meadow hay mixes, so he would begin eating it. Also, I would mix it with pellets. I also bought some more expensive hay instead of the ordinary, and this really helped. So perhaps you can try to find some other hay or mix with with some of those more expensive mixes?

[Sarita]

It is every 5 weeks and his teeth are misaligned as well.

You are correct about the Care Credit, it is a Credit Card. I think the problem with the pet insurance though is that it does not cover pre-existing.

[Sarita]

Here is the website for the Minneapolis Companion Rabbit Society:

http://www.mnhouserabbit.org/about/contact.html

They have a vet list but I would contact them and see who they recommend that does dental procedures at a reasonable price.

[jerseygirl]

Would the Humane Society where you adopted her have any recommendations?

This is a couple of vets I’ve found that were recommended by members on another forum. Obviously you’d want to check out their bunny savvi-ness for yourself though.

Dr. Peg Frank
Cottage Grove Animal Hospital
8136 E. Point Douglas Road
Cottage Grove, MN

And this one (maybe too far away?)
Dr.Laurel Lougas
Pet Medical Center
Winona MN

[BinkyBunny]

With Carecredit it is 0% for a limited time — you would have to pay it off during the time alloted. I know it can be 3 months, 6 months or a year…not sure what it depends on. You do have to be warned though that their interest rates can skyrocket after the promotion period,so it’s great if you feel you would be able to pay off the bill in time, otherwise if you get a pretty good interest rate with a credit card and you will need a longer time to pay it off, then a credit card could be the way to go (again depends on the interest rate you qualify for)

My bunny Rucy also had spurs on her teeth. Hers were caused by a misalignment due to previous abscess and tooth removals, so she could eat hay all day and still develop spurs. I had to have hers done about every quarter, but then as she aged, I only had to do it every six months or longer. There really is no way to know how often yours will need it. Only time will tell on that.

I also agree that $500 is excessive. The spur trims for Rucy were around $200.

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