Overgrown Teeth

Introduction

Like human nails, Rabbit teeth grow continuously throughout their lives. Normal chewing action wears them down just to the point that they don't overgrow. This is one of the reasons it is important to feed your rabbit a high fiber diet.

A rabbit that has a malocclusion does not have this normal wearing action and can suffer overgrown teeth. This problem can be serious enough to inhibit the ability to eat. These teeth can be misaligned at a very early age in some family lines

There are two sets of teeth to consider, the front ' bug's bunny' teeth, called the incisors, are used for nibbling food into smaller pieces and for grooming. These teeth are easily examined and should be even, with a slight inwards curl, the tips being sharpened as the upper incisors wear against the lower ones.
Most molar overgrowth is the result of inappropriate nutrition and lack of access to sunlight. Many commercial rabbit foods appear like muesli and many rabbits, like most humans, have favorite bits! If the food is replenished daily without the whole ration having been eaten, selective feeding causes mineral imbalance. This, coupled with inadequate sunlight to activate Vitamin D, causes gradual softening of the facial bones and the molars begin to tilt. As the molars tilt they can no longer wear evenly and spikes appear, cutting into the cheek or tongue. This discomfort further reduces appetite and so chewing activity. Excess salivation and weight loss soon follow. Often there is overflow of tears as the tear duct is compressed by deformed molar roots. The molar enamel will crack and deep molar abscesses form causing swellings along the upper or lower jaw line. Treating these dental abscesses is frequently unsuccessful as the bone has become infected and drainage of the thick pus and dead tissue, without tooth root damage, often impossible.
Rabbits need to chew plenty of long fiber, hay and grass for example. A complete pelleted diet of compressed grasses is the ideal foundation.
And lastly be sure to allow rabbits to get enough sun light. Sunlight is needed on the skin to activate vitamin D so that minerals can be transported into bone to maintain a strong jaw and reduce the risks of teeth tilting and wearing unevenly.