Dental disease is the most common health problem in pet rabbits, causing chronic pain and anorexia, with diet and husbandry central to prevention.
Dental disease in rabbits causes chronic, severe oral pain that is grossly underdiagnosed. Rabbits hide illness instinctively, and owners often miss the subtle early signs - reduced food intake, preference for softer foods, and reduced grooming - before anorexia and rapid weight loss develop. The primary prevention is diet: rabbits fed high-hay diets develop far less dental disease than those on commercial pellet-based diets. Once malocclusion is established, lifelong dental management is required. The welfare burden of untreated dental disease is immense - constant oral pain from spiked teeth affects every aspect of a rabbit's existence.