Rabbit tooth problem

[thumperdude95]

Hi,

I have a rabbit called Thumper and just lately I've been reading about rabbits and health problems, because I'm hoping to breed in the future. I read an article on teeth problems and decided to check my rabbit. It turns out his right incisor is bending to the right. It doesnt seem to be causing any problem with his eating or anythingso should I worry about it? He also has an eye discharge,it clears up sometimes thoughI dont know whether there is any conection with the teethbutI have read that overgrown teeth can irritate the tear duct are there any home remidies.

Regards Thumperdude

 

[Flashy]

Hi Thumperdude (Excellent name by the way).

What you are describing with the front teeth sounds like Malocclusion. This link on Teeth might be useful to read.

It may be that in time he will need that tooth treated.

If he is having problems with his front teeth there is every possibility he will have problems with molar spurs and also possibly tooth root issues which is what you may be seeing with the eye issues. It might be worth getting a skull x-ray to see what that shows in terms of the extent of the problems, or if it is just confined to the front teeth.

This is definitely not a rabbit that should be bred from though (not sure if that was your intention or not), because his problems could be genetic. It's good to hear of someone doing thorough research before breeding though. Feel free to trundle over to the Rabbitry Forum and asking any questions you want to ask. They are excellent in there and have so much knowledge I'm sure they will be able to help

 

[tonyshuman]

Hi, I'm sorry Thumper has this issue. If his teeth are bothering his chewing, they need to be trimmed. It's best to have a vet do this, but I have heard of people snipping them themselves. I don't recommend this at all as if can chip the tooth if done improperly, in some cases chipping all the way down to the gumline, which can require surgery to fix. The only way I'd feel comfortable doing this is if a vet showed me how.

You are right that tooth root overgrowth can cause problems with the tear ducts. When there's malocclusion in the part of the tooth you can see, it means there's more likely to be something wrong with the root part you can't see, such as the roots growing up into the face and obstructing the tear duct. Unfortunately, there is no home remedy for this. It requires dental x-rays to diagnose and a painful, difficult surgery to correct.

Some things you can do that may help wear the teeth down, especially in the part you can see, are to offer him lots of untreated wood to chew on. Don't use cedar, and many fruit trees aren't good either. If he's going to eat a lot of it, avoid pine as well. Apple branches are great and so are many hard woods. Most pet stores have a lot of good rabbit-safe wood chew toys as well. This won't correct the tooth root issue, but it may help with the tooth itself.

I agree that this is something you don't want to carry on in your lines. You also say you don't know what breed he is, so it's really best to get at least two rabbits (of the same breed) that are good examples of their breed and are not at all related, and start your rabbitry that way.

 

[Maureen Las]

In a perfect world a rabbits teeth should not be clipped. In my imperfect world I have clipped my own rabbit's front teeth out of necessity ( tooth was growing into his gum and dentist ws 3 hrs away) I probably should have taken my rabbit to a vet near me and had his teeth clipped the right way for clipping . rather than me doing the wrong thing the wrong way.
Clipping is done all the time by breeders and some pet owners . it is done almost exclusively in most rural communities. The problem with clipping is the extreme force that is placed on the body of the tooth and also the root.

In my case I fractured my rabbits lower incisor and the tooth eventually fell out. By that time I was at the dentist and happy to learn that the root of that tooth was still alive and healthy. If it had also been damagedI most likely would have a rabbit with a jaw abscess.

Years back different methods of dealing with rabbit's teeth were discussed on etherbun. . First of all a rabbit's teeth can be pulled but generally only if their are loose or abscessed or infected. Pulling a healthy rabbit ' tooth is sort of like trying to take out a tree with all of the roots still attached ..not an easy task as the roots grow up and all over into the rabbits face. If you leave a sliver of tooth the tooth will grow back. There is also the danger of breaking the rabbit's jaw. So anytime a full extraction is done on a rabbit it must be done slowly and carefully.

Some vets actually have used dremel drills on teeth. this is a crap shoot as a person has no control over the heat of these drills and I have heard stories of burned tongues.

Ideally rabbit's teeth should be filed . Filing is an art and only some vets can do it . The rabbit must be anesthesized but filingdoes not create tension and force on the tooth or the root . Filing generally has to be done periodically as rabbits teeth grow quickly

Your rabbit needs skull xrays as Tracy said ; a runny eye is probably cased by molar issues rather than the incisors (Or possibly just tear duct issues alone)... and the condition of the incisors have nothing to do with what you cannot see in the back of the mouth.

let us know