Clipping teeth vs dremeling them

[Luna Rose]

Am I correct that clipping a bunnies teeth with clippers is a bad idea? Just want to make sure.

I called this one place and they can spay my bunny and also clip her front teeth for a total of 100 dollars. I asked how they would clip her teeth and they said if her teeth are too long they will clip them with clippers as grinding them down with a dremel tool can cause them to break. I thought it was the other way around. And I have a bad front bad this. Clipping the incisors with clippers is always a bad idea right?

[Bam]

What I can find says never to try and clip your buns teeth yourself. Other than that, extraction of the incisors seem to be the treatment of choice if the incisors are severely overgrown. It doesn’t sound like clipping incisors would be good, but the important thing is that the vet that does the procedure is experienced and has done rabbit teeth before.
I think I’ve given you this link before

http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Dental_diseases/Treatment/Clipping.htm

[Sr. Melangell]

As Bam says, Don’t do it yourself, I tried to file my teeth, not a great experience, my teeth broke and I’m waiting for them all to be taken out now, so if you do bunny’s teeth an infection can get in, or bunny can die of shock, so please see a vet.

[Sr. Melangell]

And if people read my post, don’t file your own teeth either, or anyone’s unless you are a dentist, just don’t do it.

[Bam]

Oh, Pinky, I’m so sorry about your teeth =(

Luna Rose isn’t planning on doing anything to her bun’s teeth herself =)

I was trying to find info on whether a vet perhaps can clip bunny teeth, but I can’t find any info on that, so perhaps it’s ok if it’s a vet that is experienced and has done it before. I can understand how a dremel could cause the incisor teeth to splinter if they are really long.

[LBJ10]

They can clip them, but they have to do it right. I know several members here have had a vet clip their bunny’s incisors. As long as the vet knows what they are doing, then it should be okay. Sometimes they can do it without sedation, depending on the bunny.

[Eepster]

Is there a specific reason you asked about teeth clipping? It’s not part of normal rabbit care like nail clipping is. Rabbits only need their teeth clipped if they have a dental issue, such as malocclusion.

If your bunny has well aligned teeth, and gets enough hard things to chew (hay, willow, apple sticks, grape vine, etc) then there is no need to worry about having it done.In my years in 4H, I only ever knew of one bunny out of the dozens owned by people in the club, that needed it (his teeth were pulled out of alignment when he grabbed the bars of his carrier during a car accident.)

[vanessa]

Lunarose, I have had my bunnie’s teeth trimmed. I don’t know hop the vet did it. I didn’t ask. I assumed that the vet woudl know the correct way. I have never heard of dental work being offered as part of a typical procedure. It is handy to have it done at the same time, and that price sounds good. Teeth are checked as part of a regular wellness exam. If my 4 bunnies, 1 needs his teeth trimmed/filed twice a year. I wait till the vet tells me his teeth need to be trimmed. The other bunnies have never presented teeth worthy of being trimmed. So… if you trust the vet clinic that is doing the spay, then I would also trust their opinion of yoru bunny’s teeth. If they need trimmed, then they need trimmed. It sounds like they will be asking you to trust their judgement on that, which I think is fine. But I don’t know enough about appropriate bunny teeth trimming methods to say which is best.

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