teeth problems

My lovely blue dutch baby Xander has wonky teeth! Hes 2 years old.
I feel so aweful, I havent been taking enough notice of him, iv had baby rabbits passing away, baby guinea pigs with birth defects, everythings been so crazy over Xmas! I know this is NOT an excuse, I should check him much more regularly.
He gets daily cuddles and time to run around the house/yard/barn. He has ad lib hay and readigrass, aswell as his normal food and crunchy veggies. He isnt shunned or pushed away =[

They arent overgrown, just worn down at a angle , with VERY sharp points that will very soon start to pierce his gums.

Iv been reading up on dental problems on the internet....it sounds like he will need them filed down regularly.....I wont be able to afford it =[

I am MORE than willing to try and file them myself, I dont want to hurt him tho.

The last thing I want is to keep him alive just for my benefit, if he is suffering or will graduly get worse then I wont think twice about doing the right thing. But I dont want to jump to this conclusion if I can do something to help.

He is still eating and drinking, but nowhere near as much as he used to.

Can anyone give me some advice? I will take him strait down to the vets on monday if its needed. I just really want to help him and do the best thing.
xxx

PS other forums have said they advise PTS

Speak to your vet and ask for an assessment of what it will cost. Maybe they will let you pay so much a month.

I am in the same position, but it is by choice. I rescued a wee stray bunny which has a runny eye and has dental problems. I don't know how bad they are yet. He will be getting looked at at the end of the month. I will just take it one day at a time.

If you know you can't afford it, contact the PDSA and ask if they can help you and then maybe think about rehoming to someone who knows the score and is able to take it on financially.

Ok deep breathe and book a vet appt.

does bunny concerned have pet insurance? if so see how much the work will be etc...with fudge they treated him for a dental lesision and his insurance paid out even though it doesnt cover dental specifically. speak to your insurers-they may say it depends how the vet words it!

fudges front teeth dont match top and bottom so having been taught by my vet i now snip his teeth at home top and bottom front teeth and his back teeth are checked when he has check ups/vacs etc or if i notice excessive dribbling etc.

trying to get bunny to eat as much hay as possible can help.

dont panic....you may be surprised but please dont give up on him.dental buns can make it!

Thank you so much for your info, he doesnt have insurance though.
Id be happy to snip his teeth at home if a vet showed me.
Iv been so upset by some other answers on other forums, basically saying its a no win situ and to have him PTS before he suffers =[
I will book an appointment first thing monday. Thank you again xx

If he hasn't been to a vet and had it recorded that he has dental problems, it might be worth trying to get him insured now. Even if it doesn't cover him, at least he is covered for everything else!

Let us know how you get on.

i have a dental bun with a deformed head. she has had to have her front teeth removed and her back teeth have to be filed every 6 weeks under general anaesthetic. Apart from that she is a very happy, loving, naughty bunny. I also have another bun who has dental probs and he has to have his back teeth filed down as he gets spurs (the sharp bits that can grow into their cheeks/tongue) and again he is very happy so as long as the tooth problem is kept under control then you can have a very happy bunny. If you are going to have money problems with it I would contact the PDSA or talk to your vets about how much it will cost and if you can pay in instalments - each bunny varies on how often they have to have theirs done - some are a lot less frequent than others.

ok kate ring tomorrow and get him insured!!! it costs about £8 per month with pet plan! DEFINATELY WORTH IT!

How much does it cost to file them down at the vets?
Ill try and get him insured deffinatly =]
Thanks again everyone. x

I asked that question, but it just depends what they find. With my bun, they are going to investigate when he is having his neuter done and is out cold. Then they will let me know what they find. My vet charges about £50 to put them out so if it needs to be done under GA it will be at least £50, but they can do burring (rasping down the teeth) conscious. You just need to see what you vet says on Monday.

yes, it depends on what needs doing and on the vet. mine charge £70 in total to put them under anaesthetic and burr all the teeth down.

Oh it's a hard one. I dont for a moment think that dental problems = automatic PTS.

My little Jack broke one of her incisors jumping away from a vet and as a consequence they grew wonky. We had them removed but she developed an infection which eventually led to her death.

As far as the actual operation goes, she was able to eat just fine and had an excellent quality of life. She needed her food cutting up into small pieces as she couldn't chomp away and break it up herself but other than that she was a perfectly normal little bunny.

I would echo what others have said - get your vet to have a look. Do you have a good, rabbit-savvy vet? It is very much up to the individual rabbit as each is different but don't for a second think that just because little Xander has tooth problems it is an automatic death sentence.

By the way if applying for insurance they will not take you if you have had any 'previous or ongoing medical problems' (I tried to get Jack done) so may be worth looking into closely before actually applying...

Yes my dad has said this, he would probably need a exam at the vets before they even consider a insurance application.
And they would almost certainly smell a rat when I run down with a wonky toothed bunny a week after getting him insurance.
I will do my upmost to ensure he stays happy and helthy.

Again, thank you all SOOOO much for all the help and support you have offered me xxxx

Kate, is it his incisors (front teeth) which are causing the problems or his molars (back teeth)...

I ask this because the treatment of the front teeth is actually easier and cheaper than the molars in a lot of rabbits as they can be removed in serious cases and burred conscious in others. The cost of a conscious incisor burr costs about £15 in comparison to the cost of a unconscious molar burr which ranges from £60-£120.

Dependant on how frequently the burring is needed should determine whether he needs the teeth removing or not....although he may also need skull x-rays to ascertain if his tooth roots are likely to cause problems via erruptions into the nasal cavity, tear ducts or jaw bone, in which case they will need removing. Removal costs between £80 and £130 at most vets.

It is, however, vital that you find a experienced rabbit veterinarian to perform the tasks and that you ensure they intend to burr the teeth and NOT clip them, which can cause further damage such as cracking.

Hi Sooz, its his incisors, both top and bottom, they have worn diagonally [if that makes sense].
Would I be able to do the burring at home? Just thinking about the stress of him being taken to a strange place and being handled by strangers, hes quite a nervous boy with new people.
I dont think it would be fair on him to have his teeth removed, and really dont want to go down that route.
You mention his tear ducts...His eye has been running for about 3 dys, I keep bathing it with warm water but it hasnt stopped it, I didnt know they were connected ?:S

UPDATE-
Iv just got back from taking Xander to the vets. Its not good news.
His teeth at the front have been filed down, but now he cant close his teeth as they are too short.
They found an absess in the back of his mouth, covered in blood.
His jaw isnt strait, thats why all of this has happened.
I have been given some drops to put in his eyes for 7 days, if that doesnt make a difference then its not good news....
They said they would have to put him under and pin his mouth open to file his teeth, they would have to repeat every 4-5 weeks for the rest of his life probably, costing £100-£150 each time.

His in alot of pain and i really dont think its fair to put him thro all that.
Im going to persist with the eye drops but if they dont help, they said its best to come back down and think of 'another option'....

Im completely gutted, iv done everything text book, he always has good quality hay around, willow sticks to chew on, good pellety food.
What have I done thats caused this

I am so sorry to hear that you have had bad news.

Whatever path you take for the future, you have done everything to make his life happy and painfree. Hugs to you.

hello - i have Foxy with a deformed jaw. she has to have hers done every 6 weeks and costs £70 a go - so £100-150 sounds a lot for a GA and burring?? She has had her front teeth removed as they were growing wonky too. They have regrown twice and had to be removed again. i know this sounds like a horror film but she is actually very happy despite all this. she also has an infection in her roots and has been on antibiotics for about 4-5 months now - 2 types twice a day. she does have to see a specialist about this as it is complicated. But she doesn't care and is very happy and resilient. I just wanted to tell you that as it sounds very similar to your situation and also so you can see that although things sometimes look like they are all bad with no answer it isn't always the case.

Hi rachel. Its great to hear that your bun has the same problems and is a little fighter =]
Its really refreshing to hear after all thats been happening lately.

The price was a sort of qoute, as they werent sure what they would find when they put him out, and the price may vary depending on what they need to do. They said it would need doing every 4-5 weeks.

The vets kind of agreed that it wouldnt be fair to remove his teeth as he would have trouble eating and drinking, as they think he will have an infected molar or 2 which will also need to be removed which will make things much more difficult for him.

The problem will never go away and I just think how I would feel, knowing id need to be put out and under-go dental work every month for the rest of my life.

It might not come to it in the end, but my thoughts are it would be a better choice for him if he was PTS if he will be in pain and discomfort for the rest of his life =[

Why not take him to the vet? My baby bunny had a misaligned jaw and the vet was hopeful that it would re-align, but prior to this happening I just took her every 6 - 8 weeks to get her teeth burred.

He has been to the vets tonight, as I said in my previous but one post

Kate7590 wrote:He has been to the vets tonight, as I said in my previous but one post

I am sorry, I am new to this forum and am finding my feet re: navigation. and then my computer crashed. Sorry.

Lol dont worry. Im only relatively new and it is pretty difficult to find your way around isnt it