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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Still drooling after dental (sick bunny) *UPDATE* all better + more info!

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    • squidsquid
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        *update a few posts down from this*

        Hello,

        I’ve been thinking about registering on this forum for a while now, and recently I’ve had some health issues with my rabbit so I thought I would go ahead and sign up.  I feel bad asking for advice in my first post but I will hopefully be able to offer some in return as I become more active on these boards. 

        I noticed my rabbit was drooling large amounts after eating.  The carpet was soaked underneath the spot she would eat her vegetables.  I decided to take her in to the vet.  They adviced triming her molars so she went in for her operation and it went well.  They said she had large spurs and one was creating an ulcer.  I was told the ulcer was healing up already though and w/ the post-op medicine they sent home it should go away easily.  Her front right tooth was knocked out for some reason and growing back a little sideways, which is odd because I have no idea how that happened but they just told me to keep an eye on it because it did not seem to be causing any issues.

        After the dental, she is still drooling.  Not nearly as much, but she still has damp spots on her mouth.  It’s been about a week – at first I thought she may just be sore from the operation but its getting to the point where I think there might be another issue.  It’s been really stressing me out because it seems anything more serious than molar spurs (as in tooth root/abscess problems) are chronic, expensive, and not always treatable.  I hate the idea that she may be suffering, she is very important to me and I do my best to care for her. 

        She is still eating fine.  She  has had the same interest in food she always has througout this whole procedure, but I am worried that may change if she is in pain (which she does not appear to be, no flinching when I feel the mouth area).  She acts normal (high energy), has kept the same litterbox habits, and other than the wet spots on the sides of her mouth it would seem that nothing is wrong.  She only seems to drool when eating vegetables though (hay and pellets don’t seem to have much of an effect) and not visably – I can feel the wet spots on her mouth afterwards but cannot actually see her drooling while she eats.  The spots on the carpets seem to be from her putting the vegetables down and dropping small shavings of veggies and then walking on them, so I am not sure if that is drool after all.  

        I am trying to get her to the vet soon – next Tuesday at the latest.  In the meantime I was wondering if anyone could share similar expereinces or shed some light on the situation.  I think what is bothering me the most is that it is unclear what is wrong and I am very worried about her.  This is the first rabbit with dental problems I’ve owned.  She is 4.5 yrs old, spayed, Flemish Giant, cage-free houserabbit and has had no other issues besides sore hocks. 


      • Sarita
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          Welcome!

          I’ve had many rabbits with dental problems and it is definitely stressful and worrisome. Many times as rabbits age, they start having dental problems as their bones become less dense.

          What kind of medication did the vet give you?

          Also did the vet do radial head x-rays?


        • squidsquid
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            Thank you!

            Hmmm, there were three bottles of medicine…one was a 3day thing to help with the tummy I think, one was for pain and I believe one was for infection?  I’ll have to check on that.

            No, but she offered to do them while my rabbit would be under for the dental.  I’m kicking myself for not getting them done now, as I suspect that will be the first stage of my next visit.

             

             


          • Sarita
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              I think that would be a good idea.

              I have 2 rabbits who currently have dental issues. My senior just recently developed dental problems…we did an initial molar trim and she had some serious molar spurs and seemed fine but still was having issues – we did bloodwork, all was fine with that but she had slight elevation of white blood cells so we did some baytril for her and after a course of the baytril she was back to eating greens….then she stopped eating greens again. At that time we did not know she had the dental abscesses.

              Took her back in and her teeth were in bad shape again (after 4 weeks) so the vet did another trim and I asked her to do a radial head x-ray – she did not see anything but sent it to a radiologist who thought it looked like she had some abscesses so we started baytril about a week ago and now she is eating normally again. I am probably going to take her in for a dental check in a few weeks just as a precaution to see how her teeth are looking.

              So I think it may be a good idea to do the radial head x-rays.

              Once you have these dental problems – they won’t go away unfortunately…so you will have to be vigilant about having the teeth checked regularly.

              My netherland dwarf has to get his teeth checked quarterly – he has lost about 3 molars – he was dumped at a rescue because he wasn’t eating – it was because of his teeth – he was in bad shape. The vet did pen-g shots and pulled a few teeth and finally he was back to more normal and could eat.


            • squidsquid
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                Thanks for the reply.

                So the abcesses can be treated without removal sometimes? 

                I hate to say it but the cost is really scaring me.  Her molar trim was about $500 – I opted to save up in case of health issues rather than go for insurance, so the first operation wasn’t a huge issue and I think I can handle the x-rays and a second treatment, but I’m worried about long-term now. 

                 


              • Sarita
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                  It depends on where the abscess is – dental abscesses I believe are usually treated with medication.

                  Yes, dental problems can become costly…have you looked into Care Credit? Ask your vet if they take this.

                  Sometimes it may just take a few treatments initially to get the problem under control and then the periods for treatments will be less frequent. So hopefully this will be the case for you.


                • squidsquid
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                    Okay, that is interesting about the abcesses.  I’ve been trying to read up on all of this but its difficult to find information beyond problems with their front teeth.  Most sites just talk about prevention (had the same trouble when she got her sore hocks) – its like, thats nice it can be prevented, but what if shes already got it???  Specifically tooth root issues and molar abcesses are things I’m having trouble finding information about.

                    They did recommend Care Credit…I’m looking into it, thank you for the suggestion.  A big part of the problem is that I’m a college student so I’m hesitant to charge anything…I’m more comfortable paying up front so I know it won’t bite me in the butt later when I might not have a job.  But if thats not a posibility I think I’m going to go with Care Credit.

                    I hope I’m catching it early enough to get it under control!  Her spurs were bad but as far as symptoms go she doesn’t seem to be very far into it.


                  • Sarita
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                      Dental problems aren’t always preventable unfortunately – sometimes it’s a problem of age, genetics, breed….which basically means no matter how much hay your rabbit eats, it’s not going to change the condition…I’m not saying that is the problem with your rabbit, but some rabbits are just going to be predisposed to dental problems.

                      I had a rabbit who later in life also developed dental problems and he ended up having very weird teeth (according to my vet) and we did molar trims every 4 weeks. I took him to a specialist and they did dental x-rays and the whole nine yards – he had slight maloclussion but it seemed to cause him alot of problems.

                      I’ve had other rabbits without any dental problems whatsoever too…

                      I like Care Credit because if I choose I can just pay it in full but if it’s a larger bill as long as I pay the minimum amount due, there isn’t any finance charge for the promotional period (usually it’s 12 months to 18 months depending on the total amount)…the minimum to get the “promotional” plan is $300 and I usually have them spread it out over the longest period of time to pay off. I always end up paying it sooner but I like having the option to pay it monthly with no finance charge if I decide to pay monthly.


                    • squidsquid
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                         Unfortunately, thats what the vet told me as well.  I didn’t mean that I was looking for prevention techniques, but I wanted to find information about treatments but could only find the generic “feed them hay” stuff.

                        Thank you for sharing your experiences with dental problems!  It helps to hear how other people deal with it.  I will definitely try Care Credit.  

                         


                      • Sarita
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                          I can tell you that pen-g shots cleared up Bobby’s abscesses – he’s my netherland dwarf. The one in my photo.

                          So far for my senior rabbit Toffee, the baytril seems to be working but I think the pen-g really hits the abscesses full force. Toffee’s seem to be more in the roots of the teeth – I’m not entirely sure where Bobby’s were because I got him at the end of the treatment from another rescue friend who started the treatment for him.

                          I think treatment will also be contingent on where the abscess is as well. So keep that in mind…there are more treatments out there than those 2 that I’ve had experience with.


                        • LittlePuffyTail
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                            Just wanted to say Welcome to you and your bunny. I hope you are able to determine and clear up the problem soon.


                          • BinkyBunny
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                              I had a bunny, Rucy, who seemed to have reoccuring tooth root infections over many years — Some meds worked and kept the infections away for years, but she had been thru three surgeries within her lifetime to remove different teeth. The last time, the vet was able to get a culture during surgery so we could finally try and figure out some sort of med cocktail based on the bacteria found. (Unfortunately Rucy passed away before I could start up the new treatment). Don’t worry, though it was unrelated to the tooth issue.


                            • squidsquid
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                                  Hey – I know its been a while, but I figured I’d update anyways.  I had so much trouble finding information about drooling post-dental that I figured my experience could be useful to others who are dealing with the same symptoms.

                                Bunny went in for a second less invasive dental at another vet who took X-rays of her whole head.  The images showed that while her tooth roots are horribly crooked, there are no abcesses, infections, loose teeth, pus, or anything other nasty things.  They are not aligned but they are “clean”.  

                                Another odd thing was that her ears showed signs of her having an extreme infection in the past.  The bone is much thicker than it should be, and that may mean the nerve that runs through the side of her face is pinched and causing drooling. I had never heard of this before in rabbits and could not find much information online about it.

                                She will probably need a few more dental treatments in her lifetime, but its been a while and her drooling hasn’t become extreme again.  She is still drooling somewhat though, however pain medications don’t help at all and she does not act like she is in pain so I don’t think it is bothering her.  I’ve put a towel under her food bowl and change it every other day so the drool doesn’t get onthe carpet.  It seems like its something we’re just going to have to live with but I’m thankful because it could have been much, much worse.  


                              • Sarita
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                                  Thank you for the update. Some problems that aren’t common you may not find as much information on the internet about – I think it’s because rabbit medicine is fairly new compared to other species like cats or dogs. It sounds like you have it under control and have a good vet.

                                  Continued vibes to your bunny.

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                              Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Still drooling after dental (sick bunny) *UPDATE* all better + more info!