09/12/2025
The best way to home check is to make sure the front teeth are straight and that they are eating to their normal standards. Weight loss can also be a sign of dental disease in bunnies so make sure you assess them overall. If signs of dental disease are evident, please make an appointment with AEAC of AZ
YOUR WEEKLY DENTAL CHECK ☑️ Part 2 of 2
You do this weekly right?!
🦷Cheek Teeth
The molars or cheek teeth are too far back in the mouth to be easily checked. Vets usually give a general anesthetic or heavy sedation to be able to give a rabbit a complete dental check. This should be carried out every year. You can check for signs of tooth-pain such as:
👁️🗨️Drooling or wetness around the mouth
👁️🗨️Swelling, pain or inflammation around jaw and under chin
👁️🗨️Changes in the type of food your rabbit will eat, (e.g. from hard to soft foods)
👁️🗨️If you rabbit stops eating and loses weight
👁️🗨️Bad breath
👁️🗨️Grinding teeth
👁️🗨️Generally more bad-tempered or reclusive
🦷If There are Dental Problems, What Will Your Vet Do?
Your vet may use an otoscope for a routine health check. If your vet suspects a dental problem, sedation or general anesthesia will be used to examine the teeth properly. After a thorough examination, your vet will assess whether the problem is malocclusion of incisors, split or broken teeth, points or spurs on cheek teeth, foreign bodies, abscess, tooth root or bone infection, or warts. Bacterial infection may be difficult to treat as rabbits do not withstand many antibiotics. Your vet can trim the teeth (but this can cause splintering and infection) or file down the teeth with a dental drill (or dental burrs). Another option is to have the teeth extracted. Your vet may take an X-ray of the teeth and skull before deciding on the course of action. Removing the front teeth or incisors is a permanent solution and rabbits can easily manage without them
🦷Diet Issues
Hay or grass should form the bulk of your rabbit’s diet. Always keep hay in your rabbit’s enclosure for your rabbit to chew on. This will allow your rabbit to wear their teeth down naturally. Paper-free cardboard toilet rolls or towel tubes are good for your rabbit to chew on as are unlacquered wicker baskets, straw mats. Don’t allow your rabbit to chew on electrical wires, rubber bands, paper clips or other small objects that could become stuck in your rabbit’s mouth.
Donations ➡️ Linktr.ee/rabbittracktrailrescue
