Dental disease is the most common and most serious health problem in domestic rabbits. The rabbit dentition is highly specialised — continuously growing hypsodontal teeth adapted for processing large volumes of coarse fibrous vegetation. When diet or genetics fail this system, dental disease develops with cascading effects on welfare, nutrition, and quality of life.
Rabbit Dental Anatomy
Rabbits have:
- 4 incisors (2 upper peg teeth behind the main pair, 2 lower) — continuously growing, worn by tooth-on-tooth contact
- No canines — a diastema (gap) separates incisors from cheek teeth
- 6 premolars and 6 molars — the "cheek teeth" critical for grinding fibrous food; also continuously growing
All teeth grow throughout life. Proper eruption and wear requires the correct diet (primarily long-stem hay) and appropriate jaw alignment (occlusion).
Causes of Dental Disease
Diet: The most important preventable cause. Rabbits fed predominantly pellets and concentrated foods rather than hay develop insufficient dental wear, leading to cheek teeth overgrowth, spur formation, and molar elongation. Long-stem hay provides the lateral grinding movement that maintains tooth surfaces.
Genetics: Lop breeds and dwarf breeds (Dwarf Lop, Netherlandshire Dwarf, Mini Rex) are predisposed due to skull shape changes that alter normal tooth alignment — teeth cannot meet normally, accelerating overgrowth. These breeds require more frequent veterinary dental assessment.
Acquired malocclusion: Incisor trauma (from cage bar chewing) can disrupt tooth growth, causing misalignment that then perpetuates.
Clinical Signs
- Reduced food intake or dropping food (quidding) — cheek tooth spurs cause tongue or cheek lacerations
- Weight loss
- Wet chin from excessive salivation (ptyalism)
- Eye discharge — elongated upper molar roots compress nasolacrimal ducts
- Overgrown, misaligned incisors visible on examination
- Facial swellings from dental abscesses
- GI stasis secondary to pain and reduced food intake
Diagnosis and Treatment
Oral examination under sedation or general anaesthesia is required to fully assess cheek teeth — the dental arcade cannot be visualised in the conscious rabbit. Skull radiography or CT scanning is essential for identifying tooth root elongation, periapical disease, and abscesses invisible on surface examination.
Treatment options:
- Coronal reduction (rasping/burring) of overgrown cheek teeth under GA — palliative but must be repeated regularly
- Extraction of severely affected teeth — technically demanding but curative for individual teeth
- Surgical management of dental abscesses — often requiring long-term antibiotic treatment and repeated procedures
Prevention and Welfare Impact
Prevention through appropriate diet (unlimited hay, limited pellets) is far superior to treatment — once structural dental changes occur, they are irreversible. Annual veterinary dental assessment for all rabbits over 2 years is recommended, with more frequent checks (6-monthly) for predisposed breeds. Dental disease causes chronic pain and, if untreated, starvation — its welfare impact is profound and its prevalence in domestic rabbits is a major animal welfare concern.