Malocclusion

Hello! I am new to the forum. I have a blue pointed Himalayan named Pipper. She's 3 months old. I noticed something strange about her teeth, and upon visiting her vet, he said that her teeth were not aligned properly and that she suffered from malocclusion. This causes an inability to grab foods, such as hay, which leads to weight loss. In addition, the teeth will eventually grow into her jaw area and cheeks.

Dr. Rich explained that even if we brought her in every 3 months for a tooth clipping, she ran a dangerously high probability for abscesses and ulsters. He said her case would require a tooth extraction of her top and two lower incisors so she can properly eat and be healthy.

It breaks my heart that she's going to have to suffer through this, but it seems like the best thing to do. Has anyone had a rabbit whose teeth have been pulled? If there are any suggestions out there regarding what to do after the surgery, please send them this way! I'm very ner ous and want her to be happy and comfortable.

Thanks!!

Ashley

Before I read the extraction part that came to mind first. I worked in a dental office. I have never herd of a rabbit needing it done. Im also kinda new to rabbits all together but I learn very fast. A great diet such as watered downpellets come to mind. maybe even chopping up hay very fine and adding it in with the watered down pellets is the only thing I would think of. Also adding a multi vitamen to the drinking water. It watering down the pellets doesn't work you might have to crush them.

I would crush as much as possible and then sealing the remainder into a tuber ware canister of some sort.

Eating may not be the first thing on a Bunny's list after surgery. Bun will also be very tired. Maybe even irritable, so try and keep bun in a safe quit room for the first couple of weeks. Gonna have to learn to eat without teeth is gonna be a pain.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely try that. Her vet said she'd have to pick up food with her tongue and move them to her back molars for chewing. So, crushing the pellets would seemingly help with this.

I just hope the question of "where did my teeth go" won't affect her too much.

Oh she will notice but after awhile she will be her normal self again. Keep tabs on her weight. Make sure to get her after appointment set while you pick her up. Soft veggies are also great.

Welcome to the forum!

Shades, my 2 yr old lop had her incisors removed last summer, top and bottom. Prior to her surgery, we were having them clipped every 3 months until she had a bad reaction to one visit. The vet left her peg teeth intact so she can use them to pick up the pellets. After her surgery, the vet advised that it may take 48 hours for her to start eating on her own.To be honest, the first 24 hours afterward was very stressful for us, making sure she was ok.We syringe fed her Critical Care the first day and by the 2nd day she was eating on her own. We do cut up her hay about 1". She's been doing great and ithasn't affect her eating habits. I don't think she "misses" her incisors, if anything, we've been getting more kisses from her!:biggrin2:

Not sure if 3 month is too young for the surgery. Perhaps someone can chime in. Make sure the vet is rabbit savvy. They will usually ask youto drop her off in the morning and will not release her until she's alert, usually a couple hours later. They will probably also give you some pain meds for her. Good luck!

Tooth extractions are one of the more common procedures in rabbits. That being said, they are serious surgeries, and shouldn't be done without careful consideration. Bunnies can get along fine without incisors, molars, or even any teeth at all. It is probably worth having a second vet take a look at the teeth unless you can tell they are totally messed up--just to make sure your vet isn't over-reacting. However, if she has bad teeth at only 3 mo old, it is probably cheaper in the long run and better for her to have the incisors removed before she reaches 1yr of age.

Thanks so much for the informative replies! Pip won't have them removed until May the 9th, so by then she'll be almost 5 months. Her vet specializes in exotic animals and is very rabbit savvy. He's well known throughout Louisiana as the person to go to if you have a rabbit, or any exotic for that matter.

Helen - I'm glad to hear Shades adjusted quickly. Dr. Rich seemed confident that Pip would be fine by the second day in regards to eating, as he's done about 60 extractions in his career! I was wondering if I needed to syringe feed her, so that's good to know.

Claire - Pip is a pretty thin bun (so we're free-feeding her pellets now), so Dr. Rich suggested we wait a few months until the extraction so she can get some meet on her bones. The procedure was quoted at about $320.

Thank you all!

Our Lionhead had his incisors removed. He eats great, he just can't seem to pick up things like baby carrots or apple slices, those we cut up for him. He also has never been much of a hay eater. It is the cutest thing watching him work on eating a grape, he looks so proud of himself.

Getting the incisors pulled is definitely the best way to go with Malocclusion.
Good luck!

My Stella has undergone numerous dental surgeries. Her teeth were horrible. All of her molars on her bottom right side have been removed. Her lower incisors were also removed, but grew back, which is not unusual. One of the incisors grew back in a better position and Stella was able to keep it short, so we left that one in, and removed the other (which hasn't grown back this time). The lower incisor has shifted position so now it's between the top two. She still has to go in for a trim about every 8 weeks, but she's doing great. The vet said that she's pudgy, now, and needs to lose a pound.

I feed her a mush made up of 4 parts regular pellets and 1 part Critical Care. I throw the regular pellets into the blender until they're a powder then mix in the Critical Care. Just don't overload the blender. I killed one doing that. Then add water until it's the consistency of mashed potatoes. Then put it on a plate or piece of wax paper. You can add some applesauce to it to entice her to eat it. Stella (and her bondmate, Parker) chow down on it. She also eats veggies, regular pellets, and hay. She doesn't really need the mush any more, but she's my husband's "baby girl princess" and in his mind Critical Care saved her life, so he insists that she still get it.

I have been fortunate in that my vet allowed me to video tape her surgeries. They can be seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/FastUpOnRabbitCare

ray:

I will definitely try the pellet/ Critical Care mixture, thanks! Right now, Pip has no problems picking up her pellets, but hay is a different story, so I usually break it up for her. Hopefully she'll have an easier time when her incisors are removed. I also wasn't aware that it's possible for incisors to grow back, so thanks for that info, Flick!

I have been SO worried about this whole procedure, in regards to how Pip would recover, so I really appreciate all of your feedback. I feel very
relieved to know that all of your bunnies are doing so well. Thanks!

My rabbit, Max, had his incisors removed when he was about 4 due to tooth root abscesses that were requiring multiple surgies and causing other infections. He eventually had to have other molars removed bc of the same problem.
Max was such a trooper and did just fine even though, near the end of his life, he only had a few teeth left. He would always take a week or so of soft food (canned pumpkin, watered down pellets etc) but then he would be his normal self again, adjusting to chewing on one side or the other. He did have issues eating hay once his molars were removed but he was fine when it was just his incisors that were gone. He would sort of gum things with his mouth and then chewing was fine.
I hope this helps. I agree that surgery is not to be taken lightly but removal will save you a lot of time and $$ (and stress for him) down the road.
Give him head pats and hugs from me. I remember how stressful those dental procedures can be (for both human and bunny)

Thanks, Haley! I'm glad Max did well, he sure does sound like a trooper . Dr. Rich did mention that he saw problems with her molars, but didn't seem to think they needed to be removed. So as of now, it's only her incisors. I'll post an update when the surgery is done!