Dental disease is the most common health problem in pet rabbits and a leading cause of chronic pain, with prevention through appropriate diet being far more effective than treatment.
Dental disease causes significant and often prolonged suffering in pet rabbits that goes unrecognised by many owners. Rabbits are prey animals that mask pain, so by the time a rabbit stops eating or loses weight noticeably, disease is typically advanced. Dental spurs lacerating the tongue are extremely painful. Rabbits with dental disease may be reluctant to eat, lose weight slowly over months, and develop secondary gastrointestinal stasis from inadequate nutrition. Repeated anaesthetic procedures for dental filing are stressful and carry risks, particularly in debilitated animals. The tragedy is that most dental disease is preventable: rabbits given unlimited timothy hay from young adulthood rarely develop the tooth overgrowth and malalignment seen in pellet-fed or muesli-fed rabbits. Owner education at the point of purchase and first veterinary visit is the highest-impact intervention.