Uneven cheek teeth – can a diet change help?

[Emi]

Hello everyone.

I’ve recently noticed, with my vet, that Harvey’s cheek teeth in one side are slightly uneven. It doesn’t look like spurs at all (from what I’ve googled).. It’s like he’s been ‘grinding’ his teeth wrong and instead of them being somewhat even, they are kind of “s”-shaped – nothing sharp from the looks of it. 

Now I’ve read somewhere that it’s good to feed with vegetables high in silicate, such as broccoli, celery, hay, grass, cabbage, etc., because it requires a sideways chew more than an up and down chew (if that makes any sense?) I’ve given him some broccoli and celery to chew, and he’s eating it just fine it seems.. 

Now my question is – since Harvey is still eating and all, just maybe a tiny bit slower than before – could these veggies help correct the wrong “s”-shape of his teeth and bring them back to normal, or does he have to have them corrected at the vet? He’s an old man, 5 years old, he started having trouble keeping his weight up almost half a year ago even though he eats like crazy, so I have to give him supplements to keep him at a healthy weight. I only got him last year so I don’t even know how he reacts to anesthesia..  

He is my baby and I would do anything for him, so please don’t misunderstand this question. I’m just really worried about him..

[lorree]

Hi
i don’t know how much hay he is eating but hay is very important and it helps keep the teeth trimmed.
I have not heard of broccoli or celery helping with teeth and u definitely don’t want to feed much broccoli as it could cause gi stasis. Also be careful with celery being stringy. I usually cut it up pretty small if I feed celery.
But hay is the best thing for teeth.

It may be the best idea to get the teeth corrected by the vet. Teeth problems can really affect rabbits badly. Obviously anesthesia is always scary. My girl had her teeth done when she was about 5 as well. She was fine but every rabbit is different. Just make sure ur vet is rabbit savvy at least.

I worry that he could have more problems in future if they aren’t fixed though especially if he’s already having weight problems u don’t want him to stop eating due to pain.

If u do get the teeth fixed, just remember to ask for some “critical care” in case he stops eating. As u can force feed him the “critical care” until he starts eating again. But u might find he wants to eat even more then b4 if his teeth are bothering him now

Good luck

[Wick & Fable]

It depends.

Wick has a naturally crooked jaw, so he does not chew correctly, thus he goes in every five weeks to have the same three molars grinded while under anesthesia.

While I don’t want you to make a decision based on just my opinion, I think, if your vet sees your rabbit as healthy, the teeth should grinded so they are even, and then check back in two or so weeks and see if they grow back that way or they stay healthily aligned. If they grow back crooked again, it’s something diet won’t be able to fix most likely.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Bam]

As Wick says, if the bun has malocclusion due to the shape of the skull, diet won’t make much of a difference. If, on the other hand, the dental problems are caused by a diet not rich enough in coarse fiber, ie hay and grass, changing the diet can mean uneven teeth won’t have to be butted.

My Bam ate too little hay and grass and had overgrown teeth on his right side last summer. Because he had a respiratory infection at that time, it was deemed unsafe to put him under (he was at least 7 years old, so no spring chicken). My rabbit savvy vet put him on a hay or fresh grass diet with only a tiny amount of pellets and salad. He also got meds for the infection, of course.

When we came back for a check up and vaccination 8 months later, his right side teeth were a lot better. He had then been eating fresh grass all winter.

If he stops eating we are to bring him in at once for a burr. But as long as he eats his grass and his eyes are clear etc, his teeth are “good enough”.

TLDR: Depending on the cause of the dental issues, diet can make a huge difference. Grass and hay are vastly superior to all other food, nothing else will be abrasive enough to keep teeth in check.

[Emi]

That’s what I hoped. My vet, who is the best rabbit savvy vet in my area, told me that his teeth were a bit crooked but nothing to worry about at the moment (i was having him checked for snuffles at the time), but he sent me home with some metacam (just in case) and told me to be observant of his eating habits, to see if it would be necessary to correct his teeth, should he stop eating.

I’ve fed him lots of grass lately, since he’s not a big hay-eater (his former family mostly fed him carrots and almost no hay), and a tiny bit of broccoli and celery, just in case the article i read was right about the chewing motion of those veggies. 
He doesn’t seem to have any problems eating and will eat almost everything i serve him, except celery.. He’s not really a big fan of that 

Should I maybe continue feeding him lots of grass and give him a couple of days to (hopefully) adjust his teeth, before I go back to the vet for a check-up? 

[Bam]

I don’t think a couple of days will make much of a difference. I think it’s more about weeks before you can see any significant change. Since he has a great appetite, and doesn’t seem poorly at all, I’d go on with the grass diet. If he starts to lose his appetite or gets a runny eye or drooling, if he runs up to food but doesn’t eat (sign of dental pain in a bun), book him in for a dental check/molar burr.

If he is neutered he has survived anesthesia at least once.

You can of course keep giving him bits of broccoli , but if he doesn’t like celery, you don’t have to try and make him eat it. I cut celery up into inch long pieces so the “threads” won’t cause trouble (get stuck between teeth etc). Cutting it up releases the scent and that sometimes entices a bun to have a nibble.

The sideways grinding movement is what keeps the molars in shape, but that’s how a bun chews grass and hay. Grass and hay are high in silicates.

[Author]

Messages