Dental disease is the most common health problem in companion rabbits, with hay-based diet and appropriate genetics providing welfare-protective prevention.
Rabbit dental disease is largely a preventable welfare problem caused by the mismatch between natural rabbit diet (predominantly grass and hay) and companion rabbit feeding practices that include too much pellet feed and too little hay. The continuous growth of rabbit teeth without adequate abrasive wear causes progressive malocclusion and root deformity that causes chronic pain and requires increasingly invasive treatment. The welfare case for hay-based diet is both preventive and curative — maximizing hay consumption prevents dental disease in healthy rabbits and may slow progression in early-affected animals. Breed selection that avoids lop-eared and brachycephalic rabbits with anatomically compromised dentition prevents a predictable welfare problem before it begins.