Dental disease is the leading welfare problem in pet rabbits, with acquired and hereditary malocclusion causing chronic pain that demands lifetime management and informed owner commitment.
Rabbit dental disease causes chronic pain that is frequently missed until advanced stages because rabbits evolved to conceal illness — a prey species survival strategy that works against veterinary detection. Owners who notice their rabbit is eating less, dropping food, or producing fewer cecotropes often have a rabbit with significant dental pain. The welfare tragedy is that most dental disease is preventable through appropriate diet: unlimited hay that requires extensive lateral grinding wears teeth appropriately and prevents the overgrowth and spurs that cause tongue lacerations, cheek ulcers, and abscess formation. Lop-eared and dwarf breeds with compressed skulls have innately abnormal dental anatomy that makes lifelong dental management necessary regardless of diet quality. Prospective owners of these breeds should be counseled about the significant veterinary commitment involved.