teeth problems

[JennyD]

 My Chewy has constant teeth problems.  His front teeth become overgrown (mostly because the top and bottom do not line up, so they don’t grind down as they should).  We’ve been having his teeth trimmed every few months, but I really don’t like putting him under anesthesia that often.  The vet just called to tell me he had some complications while under today and that he stopped breathing for a while, so they woke him up and did not finish.  

The vet suggested we may want to have his front teeth removed.  I was really not sure of this option, but after hearing what happened today (and I can’t pick up him for another hour, so I’m suffering here) I am thinking more of this option.

Has anyone every had their bunny’s front teeth removed?  How painful is this for the bunny and how much trauma would it be?  Should I consider this option seriously?

 

Jenny 

[Sarita]

I have not had this done before but know of many rabbit owners who have had it done and had no complications. Now that is not to say your rabbit won’t have complications since he had them this time. Ask the vet if he can tell you why he had the complications this time too.

What I think I would do at this point is to do some bloodwork – talk to your vet about this.

I have a rabbit that has to have constant molar trims too and I worry too – I did do bloodwork and his bloodwork looked fine and I felt better about having to do the trims which can be every 2 to 4 to 6 weeks (just depends).

I would seriously consider this option – talk it over and ask lots of questions from your vet. I imagine they are in quite a bit of pain after the surgery – I know Pepe’s mouth is very tender after his molar trims. Ask him if he’s done this before too – it sounds like he may have if he suggested it.

Ask him what kind of pain meds he would give you. How long does this take for them to remove them. Sometimes they may do the top and then go back and do the bottom.

[Michelle B]

Rui just had all of his front incisor removed a few weeks ago. All of his front teeth were out of alignment and we had to go get them trimmed every few weeks. The vet never put him under for this, but Rui is a very easygoing rabbit. That’s not to say that he enjoyed this process. He hates the car and it would stress him out every time we went to the vet, so having his teeth pulled seemed to be the best long term plan. The vet I went to was actually recommended to me by another vet because he has done rabbit tooth extractions before. I don’t think that there are many vets that have. Rabbit incisors are rooted very very deeply and you need to find a vet that knows what he/she is doing.
It won’t be cheap, but then you won’t be paying for tooth trims for the rest of Chewy’s life either.
Rui was neutered at the same time as he had his teeth out, so cruel I know He also ended up with an ulcer in his eye, presumably from laying on that side during surgery, or hitting it at some point. I really think that his eye was the thing that bothered him the most. He was on Metacam for pain, and Bactrim as an antibiotic. He slept a lot the first few days, but he was eating pretty well all things considered. He hated the twice daily medicine routine. He never really seemed to be in a lot of pain, but it’s hard to tell with rabbits. He did have trouble picking up food for a while. I had been cutting his vegetables up into bit sized pieces all along. His incisors really were never much use to him except right after they were trimmed.
He has no problem with hay or other long thin pieces of food, but I really have to be careful to cut vegetables small enough that he can get the pieces in his mouth. He gets really frustrated when he ends up with a piece that is a little too big and mouths at it like an old man without his dentures.
He used to nibble at things to test them, but now he’s been licking a lot more.
He doesn’t seem to be overly traumatized. The day of the surgery he flinched whenever anyone tried to touch him, and I don’t know if he’ll ever like the vet, but he didn’t seem to hold it against me. He’s even become more cuddly since, but this could have more to do with the neuter. I know that his easygoing personality has a lot to do with how well he recovered. I think that this sort of thing has to be taken on an individual basis. I’m sure that removing Rui’s teeth was the best thing for him. They really were a hindrance and caused him a lot of pain, and would have continued to cause him a lot of pain. I could tell how much happier he was every time his teeth were trimmed.
I hope this helps you and please ask if there is anything else you want to know.

[bunnytowne]

I always wondered how rabbits did without their teeth.  With the front teeth it probably isn’t so bad not to have them. 

Without the back teeth though I ws wondering how they chew and eat.

 

[Barbie]

Posted By bunnytowne on 08/25/2009 11:09 AM

I always wondered how rabbits did without their teeth.  With the front teeth it probably isn’t so bad not to have them. 

Without the back teeth though I ws wondering how they chew and eat.

 

Like an old person with out his dentures!!! Applesauce and juice!!! Lol, actually I have no idea… That’s a good question though.  I suppose the bunny slave could do a mash of pellets and water, but since they really need the fiber from hay… supplements maybe?

Rabbits can do pretty well without their front teeth.  They learn to pick up the food with their lips.  I used to shadow a vet at her clinic, and it was pretty common to do rabbit incisor extractions and to see rabbits without their incisors.  Jenny, it sounds like that might be the best option for your bun if there’s a concern with the anaesthesia for routine teeth trims.  Tooth problems are pretty common in rabbits, and it sounds like your vet suggested the tooth extraction, so he/she is probably pretty familiar with the procedure.

Let us know what you and your vet end up doing!

[Sarita]

You do have to do soft foods for those rabbits missing their back teeth. One of my friends had a jersey wooly with severe dental problems and she would do the pellet mushes and the baby food and that’s about all you can do. It’s not ideal but neither is not having molars or very many molars.

I have this worry with Pepe because my vet said the last time she trimmed his molars one was lose – he gets his molars trimmed regularly – a little too regularly.

[Barbie]

Sarita, sorry to hear about Pepe! I don’t think I said this before, but Jenny and Michelle, I’m sorry to hear about your buns’ teeth problems too! Seems like there’s been a lot of talk about teeth problems recently…. :'(

[kralspace]

I’m glad to see this thread. My little Toby has crooked front teeth that are trimmed every 4-5 weeks too. They told me yesterday that one of the lower front teeth was a bit loose and to keep an eye on it for bleeding or pain while he’s eating. They said some long hair was wrapped around it at the base and may have just cut it a bit so they cleaned it good and smoothed the edges of the uppers to make sure he didn’t cut the gum chewing.

We discussed maybe removing all the front teeth in the future, for that I’d have to take him to Dallas. Toby is very mellow also and never has a problem with the clipping, probably because they all want to hold and cuddle him.

He and Pringles get their carrots, celery, etc shredded and Toby has no problem staying fat and sleek.

I know it’s pretty extensive surgery because of the roots, but can someone give a ballpark estimate for a routine surgery?

[earthisours]

One of my rabbits had both sets of front teeth removed. We decided because the biweekly trip to get them trimmed as far too stressful (although our vet didn’t put him under to trim the front teeth).

We had to keep a close eye on him, especially as they go very deep, and we were given antibiotics and pain killers (which he certainly didn’t enjoy) but he seemed pretty comfortable after the surgery, was eating his pellets right away. His bottom teeth did re-grow, and we did have to re-do the surgery, but it wasn’t a complicated surgery as it was for the top teeth.

We do, however, have to chop up all his hay, and rip all his veggies into pieces. It’s very hard to get him to eat any hay at all, as it’s hard for him to grab it and put it in his mouth.

In the end, I think it was a good decision, as he’s a very skittish rabbit and picking him up so often did quite scare him. To this day he hates being touched, probably associated touching from all the dental stuff. Poor thing.

[BinkyBunny]

Posted By Michelle B on 08/24/2009 11:58 PM
. The vet never put him under for this, but Rui is a very easygoing rabbit. That’s not to say that he enjoyed this process.

I just had to ask….so what did they do for pain? I’m assuming your bunny was at least sedated? I know that sometimes numbing and sedation is used for mild things but I am in the “Wow” zone thinking about how all of the incisors were done without being put under.

 

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Regarding a bunny living without incisors. I have not personal experience with all incisors being taken out (Rucy had one incisor taken out and several molars removed as well), but I have seen several bunnies live happily without incisors. One bunny at the rabbit rescue I used to volunteer for would actually just pick up the little strands of hay, and then bring it back to the molars.

As far as leafy greens go, they just have to be cut up into smaller pieces so they can be picked up with lips and munched on. Though some greens like parsley that have long stems can be eaten the same way hay is. However, I bet at first you may be helping during the healing process with “critical care” powder.

Keep us updated.

[bunnytowne]

Wouldn’t that be something.    I have heard of false tooth being screwed into the jaw bone to hold it there. 

Yes wouldnt it be something if they could do that for rabbits too.   I think the dentures would be worked loose  and eaten. 

[Michelle B]

When they filed his teeth they never put him under. They always took him to the back so I don’t know exactly what they did. I think they wrapped him in a towel and had one person hold his mouth open while the doctor sanded down the teeth with a diamond-tipped drill. He definitely was out under anesthesia when they removed his teeth.

[Sarita]

But these are the incisors that were filed – correct? I’ve only had molar trims on rabbits and I know they are always under anesthesia for this – I’m going to ask my vet about the incisors when I take Pepe in on Tuesday for his molars what the procedures would be for incisors trim – at least her procedures which I imagine are fairly standard.

[earthisours]

With my rabbit, when they filed the incisors, the vet just wrapped him up real tight in a towel, had an assistant hold him. He put a syringe between his jaws to hold them open, and within the next minute, was done. He was always very fast at it. Let me watch several times. He told us he uses human grade dental equipment, buying them from a dentist supplier. He said that the human ones use much sharper, better equipment and that’s what he trusts. Diamond blade or something like that, I don’t remember.

But he never put him under, nor gave him any sort of painkiller. Dylan never seemed to be in pain during or after, usually started eating as soon as he got home, energy level the same.

[Michelle B]

Yes, the teeth that Rui had trimmed were his incisors.

The procedure always stressed him out a bit, I suspect the car trip was most of the problem, but once we got home he was much happier than before and would romp around nibbling everything in sight. So I don’t think getting his incisors trimmed cause him any lasting pain.

[Beka27]

I know that with human dentistry, enamel is the hardest material in the body. It has to be with the pressure that’s required to eat. The best thing to cut enamel (in the case of fillings) is a diamond bur. Bits of diamond in the bur spin around very fast and that’s what cuts the tooth. I know rabbit teeth can be clipped with those little guillotine-like instruments, so I’m not sure how their enamel composition compares to humans. It’s interesting to hear what your vets do tho…

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