It is pretty often to see rabbits presented for incisor overgrowth and malocclusion.Most of the time, rabbit owners notice the length of upper and lower incisors are not in proportion. Some of them may have deviated or over-curved incisors. They may have difficulty prehending food and drinking water from nipple drinkers.Occasionally, they may have excessive salivation staining around the chin and dewlap. When they are in pain, they may tooth-grind. If severe enough, weight loss will happen. Rabbits have 4 upper incisors and 2 lower incisors. They grow continuously throughout life at a rate of 3mm per week depending on the type and hardness of diet. Incisor malocclusion can be caused by falling, chewing on cage, drinking bottle, congenital skull deformity and overgrowth of the cheek teeth. On examination, I generally split apart the upper muzzle in order to assess the length of upper and lower incisors. Upper and lower incisors should be in 1:1 ratio. For problematic incisors, they show overgrowth, grooves, changes of curvature, discolouration etc. Examination of the oral cavity is achieved with an otoscope which can visualize about ½ to 1/3 of the total 22 cheek teeth. To check for malocclusion and overgrowth of the cheek teeth. Treatment-wise, regular trimming of incisors with dental drill bit. Rabbits are restraint with a towel, oral tissue and perioral tissue are protected by a syringe or pen. If they are too wriggly and jumpy, sedation is required. This procedure has to be done every 4-8 weeks as the incisors grow continuously. Another option is incisor extraction. This procedure requires general anaesthetic. 2 upper and 2 lower incisors are removed with a rabbit incisor luxator. Rabbit incisors have very long and curved roots which make the procedure time-consuming. Occasionally, some rabbits may have the extracted incisors regrown which would need second extraction. After extraction, they may bleed from the extraction sites for a few days which is normal. They are put on antibiotics, pain-relief and critical care formula for at least a week. Incisor extraction does not affect food prehension and eating of the rabbit. I have seen owners trimming their rabbit incisors with nail clippers at home or at pet shops which are totally unacceptable. Clipping can cause fractures and tooth root abscessation which is very difficult to cure and with high recurrent rate. When you notice your rabbits have incisor overgrowth problem, bring them to your rabbit veterinarians as soon as possible and try not to treat them at home. |
