Bumps in mouth

[allison]

Someone told me the other day to check Dusty'sback teath because that is how thier rabbit died (they over grew and hecouldn't eat). I didn't even know that rabbits had back teeth :?. Well,I tried to look at them but couldn't find them. All I saw were littlebumps on his cheeks and gums...Is that normal?

 

[tofuhead]

how old is your buns?

i tried looking for my rabbit's back teeth out of curiosity andcouldn't. what vets use is a cone shape instrument that looks way intothe mouth. So i assume if you are curious you need a tool to do so orelse the rabbit would gack.

 

[naturestee]

It's usually pretty hard to find molar spurswith a finger or the naked eye. Usually if a rabbit startshaving trouble eating or is eating less, you should take him to a vetand have the vet look with a scope, or better yet xrays and a scopecheck while the rabbit is under anesthesia.

I just posted a link to pics of molar spurs yesterday. Checkthe reply on the very bottom. These are extreme spurs, manyrabbits will stop eating long before they get this bad.
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11901&forum_id=10

 

[pamnock]

Like most herbivores, rabbits have a large gapbetween the incisors and the molars. The fact that the molarsare far at the back of the mouth and also that the rabbit's mouth issmall makes it very difficult to actually view the rabbits molarswithout a special tool.

View of the inside of a rabbit's mouth:

http://www.vet.uga.edu/mis/exotics/mammals/oral.php

Photo of rabbit skull showing placement of teeth:

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/sneezing.html

Another good illustration of the location of the molars:

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-9/graphics/mouth.gif

Photo showing molar spur and tongue laceration:

http://www.vetrica.com/care/rabbit/diet.shtml

Pam

 

[mummybunny]

If you can feel bumps along the lower jaw boneline, this can be indicative of the roots of the lower molars havinggrown through the bone, resulting in a bumpy jaw profile. Greater riskfor jaw abcesses in these area results. Xrays are the best indicator ofovergrown teeth and roots.

 

[allison]

Dusty is turning 5 in Oct. (Well, we don't knowhis exact birthday but we got him in Oct. 2004 and he was 3 so wepicked oct to be his birthday.)

The bumps are on his lips and the sides of his gums so I don't thinkhis teethis the problem. Do you think they are abscesses?They really don't seen to be bothering him. He's still eating andchewing on stuff...Should I be worried about the bunps?