tooth loss

Question
QUESTION: Thanks very much for the recent info that helped my daughter's rat get the proper prescriptions from an exotic specialist.  He is on two meds for 6 weeks and doing well thus far.  

Meanwhile his brother first broke, then lost a top tooth.  We are confused as to how this even happened.  He was not injured or anything.  Does he also need medical care or will the tooth just grow back?

Susan

ANSWER: Hi Susan

Sounds like your rat may have malocclusion. This is when the jaw is misaligned and when the rat eats, the teeth do not meet properly. Over time, the bottom teeth can grow crooked and dig into the roof of the mouth or the gums. This can also cause the other teeth to break.
The tooth will grow back, by the way, unless it is pulled, root and all.  The tooth probably broke at the gum line making you believe the entire tooth came out.  Rats top and bottom teeth look almost like the letter "C" and are huge, much larger than you can imagine. When they come out at the root they are almost the size in diameter of a quarter in an adult and a nickel in a younger rat.

This is a serious condition so the vet should be seen for this, even just to check it out and make sure things as like they should be.   If it is malocclusion like I suspec, the vet needs to trim the rats teeth and will probably have to trim them every month for the rest of his life. I dont suggest trying to trim them on your own or you could actually cut their tongue badly.

For now, try letting him lick baby food from your fingers so he doesnt have to chew.

Let me know how it goes at the vet and keep me updated please about how things are going.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Are you sure it couldn't be something else?  His teeth looked perfectly normal and aligned prior to the top one breaking.  After it broke, it then quickly grew to even out with the other top tooth (we thought it was fine).  Then it grew past the normal tooth and got loose at night and was missing the next morning (this all happened in a very short period of time -- 7 days?).  Although this morning we could see an empty hole in the gum area, tonight I see a bit of tooth growing in.

He never really liked soft foods -- are semi-soft foods like bread okay?

Susan

Answer

If his teeth are properly aligned, the tooth would not have grown past the normal tooth.

Normally, when a rats teeth are aligned right (this includes the jaw as well)they naturally grind during eating and normal bruxing.   People assume that rats need something hard to chew on in order to prevent their teeth from over growing, which is a myth.  As long as the jaw is aligned and the teeth are meeting properly, when the rat eats and chews, this grinds them down naturally to the proper length.
When they dont, one will start to grow longer than the other, and this often can cause the teeth to break.  Rats teeth dont usually break easily. They can chew through wood, hard plastics, and even some metals without breaking healthy teeth.  Malocclusion can weaken the rats teeth as well and this is what causes breakage.

Of course, I have not examined your rat and can only give you an educated guess based on the symptoms he has, so there is a chance it could be something else and since I am not seeing him in person I may be missing it.  It does still sound like malocclusion. Sometimes its mild, sometimes its so severe the bottom teeth can grow crooked and make him look like a walrus. Other times the teeth can poke straight through the roof of the mouth.  Malocclusion is genetic but there are some predisposing factors that can cause it as well.

As for bread, at this point I would avoid anything doughy due to potential choking hazards. If he is eating a good lab block, try soaking it in warm water a bit first to soften it up some and see if he likes that.  If your using a homemade rat mix, the crunchier cereals such as cheerios, rice chex, puffed rice and puffed wheat should be ok.  Peas and carrots (cooked/canned) are another option, if he will go for it, that is.