Bunny tooth trimming questions

[Mark]

Alright sooo, I have a 2 year old netherland dwarf rabbit that I started noticing problems with, to my dismay the little feller had basically grown a pair of tusks. Luckily I caught it in time before it started losing weight or the teeth dug into the gums. Anyways i took it to the vet today and had the teeth ground down to the gumline (all 4 incisors) the molars were luckily fine. This cost me about $230, though the vet said the next time i have to have this done it will be about $162. How often will i have to have this done? He said anywhere from every 8-12 weeks, but im curious as to how it went 2 years without this being an issue. Is it possible if i adjust the rabbits diet and give it more to gnaw on that i can get by without having to take it back like every month? the cost to remove them he said was like $2,500 which is just too much. halpp >.<

[LBJ10]

Why were they ground down to the gumline?

[Mark]

Well he’s assuming I’ll have to have this done regularly, if he just trimmed them a little id be back in a week spending another $160 to have them trimmed again. Considering bunnys eaten like a bale of hay since regaining the ability to do so..id say gumline is fine lol.

[Bam]

I’m glad he’s eating hay. If you have access to apple and willow-trees, give the bunny twigs and branches to gnaw.
If incisor-problems persist, you can have them extracted. A rabbit can live without its incisor since they’re mostly used to pull food into the mouth, the chewing is performed with the molars.

This is an article on extraction of incisors:
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/2-6/tusks.html

Here’s more info on the whole problem:
http://www.mypetsdentist.com/rabbit-incisor-malocclusion.pml

[Mark]

I know, I can’t afford $2,500 for the extraction…and I’ve only found 1 vet so far that’ll do it.

[Bam]

Oh, I’m sorry, I thought the 2500 were for a year of grinding them down every few weeks =(

[Bam]

In the first article I linked to, the one that advocates extraction, there was mention of people earning to trim their bunny’s incisors themselves with a Dremel tool. I’m quoting:

“If trimming is the treatment selected, then we recommend using a Dremel tool with a sanding disk or dental burr to cut teeth.

After years of trimming bunny teeth, and teaching owners to do it, I felt that there must be a better way. Many owners tire of the process, which sometimes must be done every four to eight weeks, and either let the teeth grow dangerously long or even have their bunnies destroyed.”

I don’t know if perhaps that would be an option for you, to learn how to do it yourself? Do NOT use nail-clippers etc, that can be cathastophic, they must be ground down.

[Sarita]

I wouldn’t recommend trimming them yourself. Call around to other vets to see if they see rabbits. also consider the cost of those trims compare to extractions and see what would be best in the long run.

[Author]

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