Alison Laurie-Chalmers: How to look after your rabbits teeth

Rabbits have open-rooted teeth which continuously grow throughout their life. They have large, long front teeth, called incisors, and a good set of upper and lower molar teeth in the back of their mouths, which are used for grinding down and chewing their food. Rabbits also have two small, tube-shaped incisors (peg teeth) behind their large upper incisors.

Dental problems are sadly extremely common in rabbits. Malocclusions ie imperfect positioning or meeting of the teeth, cause improper growth or wear patterns and so overgrowth of the incisors and/or molar teeth can commonly occur.

Overgrown molar teeth also generally have sharp points, or “spurs”, that can cut and damage the rabbit’s tongue, cheeks, gum tissues. In the case of severely overgrown lower molars, worryingly these could also form a “bridge” over the rabbit’s tongue, causing it to be trapped and damaged. Overgrown back molar teeth can also in turn change the way that front incisors meet, and therefore also affect the normal wear of these front teeth too.

Malocclusion of incisors will sometimes cause these front teeth to protrude from the mouth and they can then continue to grow at an angle to each other.

All these dental problems can lead to infections in the mouth and dental abscesses, difficulty eating, discomfort, drooling, pawing at the mouth, problems grooming, gut problems, loss of weight and general debilitation.

Rabbit’s teeth normally grow at a tremendous rate of one centimetre each month and in the case of an unopposed incisor, growth can be as much as one millimetre per day!!

There are multiple factors that cause dental problems in rabbits – but a significant one is their diet.

Rabbits need to be fed a diet high in fibrous material and roughage to grind their teeth down naturally. Eighty per cent of a domestic rabbit’s diet should be hay or grass (but not lawn clippings as these can lead to digestive upsets).

It is very important that your rabbit is on an advised proper diet, so that it chews its food well and wears down its teeth in the process of eating. A high fibre diet is essential to wear down their teeth and help avoid dental overgrowth that can lead to life threatening problems.

Dental problems may also be hereditary, especially in the lionhead, dwarf and lop-eared breeds.

As a rabbit owner, it’s important to keep an eye out for dental problems and check your rabbit’s general health regularly. Rabbits instinctively try to hide pain and discomfort, because showing any sign of weakness in the wild would make them a target for predators. With any disease they generally become very quiet and withdrawn. Symptoms include looking dull and less active, a reduced appetite, weight loss, a dirty bottom as self-grooming becomes difficult, diarrhoea or soft faeces, salivating and wetting of the fur below their mouth, teeth grinding, weepy/crusty eyes, and a runny nose.

Your rabbit’s treatment will depend on the dental disease they have but is likely to include a combination of surgery, pain relief, medication to assist their gut motility, and assistance to get them eating again, and advised dietary changes and regular dental checks thereafter.

As a rabbit owner, it is important to keep an eye out for dental problems and contact your vet if you notice anything unusual. Dental disease can be extremely painful and if left untreated can cause major health problems, including intestinal problems such as gut stasis and bloat. In addition to regular monitoring at home, have your rabbit’s teeth checked at least twice yearly by your vet. Older rabbits should be checked more often.

Alison Laurie-Chalmers is a senior consultant at Crown Vets in Inverness.

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