Dental disease is the most common serious health problem in pet rabbits. Understanding its causes and early detection dramatically improves rabbit welfare outcomes.
Rabbit dental disease causes chronic, often undetected suffering. A rabbit with elongated tooth roots pressing on facial nerves, overgrown molars cutting into cheek tissue, or a malaligned bite experiences persistent pain with every chew - a severe welfare compromise in an animal whose life revolves around eating. The root cause in most cases is dietary: commercial pelleted diets that do not require adequate chewing allow teeth to overgrow. The prevention is simple and available: unlimited timothy hay must form 80% of the diet from the day of acquisition.