What questions should I ask at the dental consult for my bunny?

[Beeskerlady]

Hi all. Sassy has a dental consult on September 7. What questions should I be asking and what should I expect ? Do they do the consult and dental procedure the same day or the consult first and the procedure another day??? I’m really new at this, because Boobah didn’t have dental issues. Sassy is the first bunny I’ve had that’s had dental issues. Thanks in advance, from me and Sassy.

[kirstyol]

I’ve never had a specific dental consult for my two but both have had dentals, bramble has had several. It’s a reasonably straightforward procedure for vets that know what they are doing with rabbits teeth. I would ask if there is any gum/cheek damage, Bramble had a bit of a sore on his tongue one time and poor ron had bad damage to his cheek. Also when do they recommend you come back? We go every three months, we left ron for six months one time because his teeth had never been an issue and that’s when he hurt his cheek.

I can tell you what my vet does. The take bramble in in the morning, he takes a packed lunch with him. They usually do the surgery just before lunch then they call me to tell me everything is ok and arrange a time to pick him up, usually about tea time once he has eaten etc. You will usually get pain meds home and quite possibly motility drugs too and syringe food. You need to make sure Sassy is eating after surgery. That’s the big problem really, offer soft foods and favourite foods to encourage eating. You may need to syringe feed for a day or two, bramble has a bad tummy anyway so its hard for me to judge what a healthy rabbit would go through bramble needs syringe feeding for a few days. Ron had syringe feeding just the first day if I remember correctly.

[Beeskerlady]

Is 13 days too long to,wait for a dental?? From what I’ve been told she should get it as soon as possible ??

[Wick & Fable]

It’s good to ask your vet how severe it was, so you can help gauge timeline for when it may be needed again, as well as match any current behavioral changes to stage in molar spurs development. Wick requires it every three months, and will show signs before it becomes painful– he adjusts how he chews first. Wick’s signs are frequent out of litter box pees and unwillingness to relax when pet.

For the operation, once the vet sees it’s an issue, Wick has it done then and there, and I leave with him afterwards. My vet has put Wick under anesthesia and has done this twice on him now, so pretty comfortable with having him snap back right after the surgery.

Follow up wise, not much. Since dental procedure, like grinding molar spurs, and pretty straightforward, it’s fine. If it’s another dental procedure, talk more about what will be done!

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.

[Beeskerlady]

They told me it would be grinding down the spurs. She’s eating, drinking and pooping. Still nervous about the procedure. Thanks Wick!!!

[Beeskerlady]

Will be watching for those signs, that you told me about, Wick. Sassy’s eating hay and last night she even binkied a few times. Today she finished her five day course of metacam. No bunny burrito was needed, she took the meds right from the syringe. Just hope they can do the procedure the same day ( next Thursday, sept . 7).

[Beeskerlady]

Will be watching for those signs, that you told me about, Wick. Sassy’s eating hay and last night she even binkied a few times. Today she finished her five day course of metacam. No bunny burrito was needed, she took the meds right from the syringe. Just hope they can do the procedure the same day ( next Thursday, sept . 7).

[Sarita]

My rabbit gets a dental trim every 3 months and has for the past 8 years without any problems. My vet puts my rabbit under anesthesia, he gets metacam (injection) and she checks his gums and teeth and does the trim. He gets the oral metacam as needed for the next few days and usually doesn’t need it. If she finds some kind of infection (pus) we put him on oral antibiotics.

Pretty standard and easy peasy.

I always drop off in the morning and pick up in the afternoon – just leave greens for him. I do find that they prefer fresh greens (kale is good) after a dental procedure.

Bobby was dumped at a guinea pig rescue when he was young (maybe was a year old…can’t know for certain) – he had a dental abscess and was not eating – eventually lost his lower left molars and hence, he must get a dental trim every 3 months and I’ve had him 8 years.

[joea64]

(taking notes) I expect to take Panda and Fernando in for their first semi-annual checkup in a couple of months, seeing they had their last vet visit in May. I’ll make sure to inquire about their teeth; they were good when I looked at them during the adoption process, and they’ve been chewing heartily on hay every day so that’s a big help on that front, but no harm in making sure.

[kirstyol]

Definitely no harm in making sure, in fact I would strongly advise that a rabbits teeth should be checked at every check up because they hide pain so well you wont know there is a problem until there really is a problem. Our Ron had damage in his cheeks because his teeth were so bad and we had no idea, he had refused to let the vet check them at their previous check up and the vet said she wasn’t worried because he had never had a problem with his teeth before. I feel terribly guilty to think that his teeth could have been like that for six months as it was six months since they were last checked

[Sarita]

I agree they should definitely always have their teeth checked. Even so if your rabbit is having GI problems or behavior or eating habits have changed and they vet doesn’t see any problems with teeth, it still could be dental problems. Many times with those back molars it is hard to detect molar spur and also as with kirstyol’s Ron, there are those stubborn rabbits who refuse to cooperate. Sometimes those can only be detected while your rabbit is under anesthesia….

[kirstyol]

See in Ron’s case I was worried because he wouldn’t let her near his mouth, he has had his teeth checked before and didn’t seem all that bothered about it (Bramble seems to quite like it, weirdo that he is) I said I thought he was in pain because he had never reacted like that before and we had had him over a year by that time so he had had his teeth checked at least three times before but the vet was really convincing saying it was unlikely he had an issue when his teeth had been absolutely fine three months before and he had never ever had a teeth issue before. I wish I had listened to my instincts. If I have one piece of advice for rabbit owners that is it – you know your buns, always trust your instincts when you feel something is wrong.

[Wick & Fable]

Unsure of other vet’s strategies, but Wick’s vet uses an otoscope (used to look in human’s ears), fixed with a particular scope-head that the rabbit-clients literally chew on while the vet looks into their mouth. It gives a better look, but my vet admits in most cases, you need to put the rabbit under to know for certain.

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.

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