How does she have malocclusion NOW???

[GBov]

Just noticed my favorite doe today looking a bit odd in the face and a glimps of tooth where no tooth should be and yep, one of her front teeth is curving sideways and very sharp on its edge where it is rubbing the inside of her lip.

Will get the grinder out tomorrow when I have help and at least take that edge off so she - hopefully preggers as she is - will be much more comfortable.

But she is at least 2 years old.

How has malocclusion showed up now? Can she have damaged the underlying bone somehow and forced the tooth to grow out of true?

And of course, she is my favorite. My second favorite doe managed to kill herself a few weeks ago so I am really hoping that this could be an injury which means at least her kits will be part of my breeding project.

The project, I hear you ask? Two double quilts of Rex hides, one of Tricolor and one of Harlequin hides.

 

[ipoGSD]

I know they can mess their teeth up if they bite on cage wire. I've had it happen to one of my favorite boys, he was fighting with another male thru the cage.

 

[KimitsuKouseki]

here's a few causes for older buns :
- not enough hay or stuff to chew on
- broke 1 tooth on something hard and that caused a deviation of the growing teeth
- freak accident wich hurt her jaw or jaw muscles causing her to chew wrong compared to normal
- absess on the chin or nearby head area causing pain when chewing

 

[michaels4gardens]

I have only noticed malocclusion in older rabbits a few times,
... for me,.. it was "usually" does who like to move things about a lot, sometimes even repeatedly moving their nest boxes.....
- or does who like to pull on cage wire...
-- once , as a result of being bitten in the face while fighting through the wire..
I have never seen malocclusion show up in their young...

 

[GBov]

Oh, I love you guys!

Your ideas meshed with mine but as I have never seen it show up in a doe this age, I badly needed to hear it from people who have.

Great, I will keep her comfortable with that tooth ground down and not worry about her kits carrying it into the future.

Yay, this is a lovely bunny and would hate for her not to continue as part of the herd. <br /><br /> -- Tue Feb 12, 2019 2:47 pm -- <br /><br /> Because the buns are so wasteful of hay and my cages are two by one wire, I have been putting the hay on top of hte cages so they can pull it down through the wire. Keeps them busy and leaves nothing to waste.

Could she have done the damage that way?

And if so, would wire hay racks be any better or safer?

 

[michaels4gardens]

I've done it both ways,[fed hay] ..in the ten thousand or so rabbits I have bred, I have only seen this a few times.. I would be surprised if you ever saw it again ..

 

[KimitsuKouseki]

I used to have hay feeders but some bunnies would get lazy and struggle to get the hay or would get too eager and chew the wires till they'd cut em..... Yeah..... not good.
So now I just give a handfull per day directly on the cage floor or on top of the nest box if there's one. It does waste some but over time I learned how much each rabbit eats per day and I adjust the amount accordingly. For exemple, my 2 smallest adults; Edward doesnt eat much hay and prefers pellets, while Eva eats a ton of hay and hardly any pellets. So if the others get a handfull in general, Edward gets a third and Eva gets 2 handfuls. So it actually helps you get to know what's normal for each rabbit and you can end up detecting issues faster thanks to that. If Eva only ate as much hay as Edward for a few days something would be super wrong.

 

[GBov]

She was as good as gold! Sat like a proper lady as I used my wire clippers to cut the tooth off and then the Dremel with a grinding stone to smooth it down with.

 

[KimitsuKouseki]

that's great news. Now just keep an eye on her to make sure it doesnt grow back wrong. Sadly if it does, it might be a permanent issue with her from now on.

 

[michaels4gardens]

that's great news. Now just keep an eye on her to make sure it doesnt grow back wrong. Sadly if it does, it might be a permanent issue with her from now on.

In my experience... Malocclusion, is always a "permanent issue" once it happens.. she will need to be trimmed from time to time as long as she lives...

 

[GBov]

that's great news. Now just keep an eye on her to make sure it doesnt grow back wrong. Sadly if it does, it might be a permanent issue with her from now on.

In my experience... Malocclusion, is always a "permanent issue" once it happens.. she will need to be trimmed from time to time as long as she lives...

Yep. That tooth will always grow sideways now and the matching bottom tooth, while it looks fine right now, will have to be trimmed in future as well.

Never mind, at least she was good about it so it is just a case of watching her closely from now on and doing the work as soon as it needs it.

I was worried about abscess with the outside edge of the tooth being so sharp but the inside of her lip looks good and the tooth is now smooth so we dodged that bullet at least. <br /><br /> -- Tue May 14, 2019 7:16 pm -- <br /><br /> She is SUCH a good girl! She sat like a fur covered brick as we held her lips in all different directions to get the clippers in to cut the tooth and I had my fingers all up in her mouth making sure no other teeth were gone wonky and she never even tried to bite.

The dremmel is a bit much though, she pulls back when I grind the tooth smooth but just an inch or two and then looks at this thing I am sticking in her mouth. :lol:

 

[EnglishSpot]

I always draw back when the dentist uses the dremmel on me.... er, grinder. Dang cavities. :x