Dental disease is the most common health problem in pet rabbits, causing chronic pain that is frequently under-recognised by owners.
Rabbit dental disease is a silent welfare crisis: rabbits instinctively hide pain, so owners frequently miss signs of severe oral discomfort until the animal stops eating. By this stage, significant tissue damage, abscess formation, and weight loss may already be present. Preventive welfare centres on diet — maximising hay intake from early life — and breed selection that avoids extreme brachycephalic conformations. Dwarf and lop breeds face structural dental crowding that no management can fully resolve, making regular veterinary dental monitoring essential from the first year of life. Many owners report that dental treatment dramatically transforms their rabbit's behaviour, revealing pain that had been masked for months.