Dental Care in Rabbits

What do a rabbit and a horse have in common? Their teeth!

Just like horses, rabbits have teeth that are well evolved and adapted for eating tough food. Because of this, rabbit teeth wear down constantly and, so that they are not left toothless one day, they grow constantly.

This is a wonderful bonus for wild rabbits, but for domestic pet rabbits this evolutionary bonus can be a problem.

A rabbit that does not eat food rich enough in fibre cannot wear its teeth down properly. Several things follow from this – the crown of the tooth starts to grow and overlaps the opposing teeth in the wrong way (malocclusion).

Once severe dental malocclusion sets in, it is very likely that the rabbit will never have a normal bite again.

If we have not convinced you yet, we will mention that if the teeth are overlapped so that they cannot grow forward, they start growing inward – towards the lower jaw and, to everyone's horror, towards the eyes.

In short, you will be doing both yourself and your pet an enormous favour by providing it with enough hay!

How do I know if my rabbit has bad teeth?

Usually, if you keep up with the annual check-ups, your vet will spot the problem before you do.

"But my bunny eats normally and shows no signs of pain, do I really need to bother with these check-ups?" YES! Rabbits in the wild have one big problem – almost everything tries to eat them.