Poppy is a gorgeous rescue rabbit who has had an eventful life. Before she was rescued, she was found hopping around in a graveyard! 

Her new owners brought her to see us for a health check, where we found a discoloured front tooth (incisor) and her back teeth (molars) were irregular. Rather than having a nice flat surface to grind food on, they were uneven heights giving a step-like appearance. This made it very difficult for Poppy to eat hay and grass, which should make up 85-90% of a rabbit’s diet. 

Before putting Poppy under a general anesthetic (GA), to correct her teeth, we took a pre-operative blood sample which showed that she was otherwise healthy, and it was safe to go ahead. We took dental radiographs (x-rays) to see what Poppy’s teeth were doing below the surface. These help plan tooth corrections that are undertaken with a diamond burr. It also showed that she needed some tooth extractions. Poppy’s teeth were more diseased than we thought, and it was clear that she would need many more dental procedures to manage them. 

Rabbits’ teeth are constantly growing, usually around 2-3mm a week, so if they are not ground down correctly by eating hay and grass then there could be as much as 1cm of growth each month! Rabbits with dental problems therefore need regular checks and repeat dental work under anaesthetic to ensure they can continue to eat comfortably. It will vary case to case how frequently these procedures are required; Poppy needed dental work every 2-3 months initially. After a lot of corrections and management we were able to increase the time between dentals. Poppy was prescribed daily pain-relieving medications to help with the discomfort from her dental disease.

Over the past three years, Poppy has had multiple dentals with staged tooth extractions. On her dental journey she has had a skull CT scan to give us 3D images of her skull and teeth to help us with managing her disease. She’s fought deep tooth root infections where tissue was sent for culture and sensitivity to make sure that we treated her with the appropriate courses of antibiotics. She has even lost some of the bone in her lower jaw from all the inflammation and infection she has previously battled with.

Earlier this year Poppy had what will hopefully be her final dental procedure – all her teeth have now been removed. She is now a toothless rabbit! This may seem extreme, but she is so much happier without those abnormal, painful and sometimes even infected teeth present. 

Since her teeth have been removed, we have been able to wean her pain medications down. Poppy enjoys her food a lot more now she can eat pain free. She has a slightly altered diet with her hay and veg being finely chopped up, and her pellets softened. 

Throughout it all her owner has been dedicated to giving Poppy the best healthcare and life possible. Many vet appointments, procedures, daily medication and a special homemade diet, but it has all been worth it to give Poppy the quality of life she deserves. Poppy is a special and extreme case of rabbit dental disease, and the majority of rabbits with dental disease are nowhere near as severe. We’re so pleased to see how well she has been doing the last few months and look forward to seeing her back for her routine vaccines and 6-month health check.

Amy Bowler – BVSc PGCert (ExAS) MRCVS RCVS Advanced Practitioner in Zoological Medicine