Dental diseases in rabbits: malocclusion and their consequences

Abstract

The teeth of rabbits grow continuously lifelong, a type of dentition that predisposes to the development of acquired dental disease, which can be described as a multifactorial disease including tooth quality alterations and malocclusion, as well as non-dental consequences. Two studies were conducted. The German study was based on a questionnaire survey performed among 82 pet rabbit owners and aimed to investigate pet rabbits' nutrition, husbandry and health with special emphasis on dental disease. The majority of the owners fed their rabbits with concentrates (87.2%) once a day (57.1%), mostly pellet type (75.6%) with freely available hay (96.2%) and vegetables once a day (47.4%). Dental disease was reported in 33.3% of the rabbits and mostly on the cheek teeth (20.6%) compared with front teeth (9.5%) or both (3.2%) and it occurs mostly in males (38.5%). The group of rabbits affected with dental disease was predominated by the older age group (above 4 years, 50%).