Different burring technique & frequency of molar spurs

Question
Hi Dana,

After many problems with dentals and my bunnies recovering, I decided to try a vet in UK that uses a different technique for dentals (not clippers or usual type power tool type burr, she actually uses some blunt crocodile clamp forceps through a large otoscope head type attachment. This is put into rabbits mouth (which has pouch expanders in place) and then the spurs are gently crumbled away.  As the forceps have no cutting edge, the risks of damage are very minimal .  Just wondered if you had ever heard of this technique and what you thought of it.

I did actually use this vet to try this on my bunny a couple of weeks ago and she did seem to have a slightly better recovery (she is usually treated for spurs & crown height reduction - with 'burring') however, this vet found some soreness on her tongue which she thought was from the last molar (she puton report -last molar leaning lingually probable cause) However, as the previous dental before this one was only just over 2 weeks, I have a hard time understanding how my bunny can get another spur when she had no recovery with her eating from the previous dental.

To explain a little better, she had a dental on 8th Jan'08(molars burred and spurs burred away) she came home, managed to eat little bit next day, but following evening, she was dipping her tongue out really oddly when she was trying to chew.  I took her back to this vet who did the dental and he thought she had a bit of post-op swelling on the tongue.  She never ate right after this, (despite 2 lots of vetergesic injections later that week) so I went to see this other vet on 25th January'08.

It was here I tried the new technique for my rabbit and the vet told me the following:-- On Right side tongue sore caudally, last molar leaning lingually probable cause.  She removed some small spurs, but described her upper Right molars 1 and 2 as pushing into cheek (didn't say she'd done anything about that on her report)??  Also described the last molar on lower right side as being sore with bleeding from gum with gentle application of cotton bud, tooth slightly loose.

She also found some healed up scar tissue under the tongue( I have no idea how that got there) but she was also concerned about a lower left molar which she described as 'being covered by tissue from fauces and lateral deviation which is probably causing pain when she chews' Just wondering if you could explain what that means a little better??

She thinks my bunnies problems stem from her alignment, although she thinks the crowns are quite short.  My bunny is 10 half now and has had dentals for 2 half years now.  Despite a slightly better improvement on recovey from her dental (she did have all that soreness in her mouth) she now seems to have spur like difficulty chewing again, which seemed to emerge about 5 days after this last dental.  I remembered your advice about grass helping the bunny you had with the terrible molar alignment and I got Pepsi eating regular small amounts of grass after this last dental as I thought it might help her alignment.  Although she ate a little better for just those few days, I can't understand how she can have a spur again already.  I re-read my previous notes from vets before christmas too and apparently her crowns were described as very short then too.  Despite regular dentals before christmas she could not eat any better either and I was getting very concerned as I couldn't figure out why not?  Its always the same thing, she can chew a bit, then she has to stop.  She doesn't really favour any type of food, she tries everything (hard or soft) chews so much, then stops.  I should point out that she does have elongated roots too (with some lumpiness under jaw) or remodelling of the jaw, but she doesn't have any abscesses (we have recent x-rays)

She must have enough alignment to be able to chew, because I watch her all the time chewing small amounts at a time. (Amounts are not enough to sustain her though and I have to regulary syringe feed her too) I can't however, figure out what stops her, or why spurs seem to appear so quickly.  Can spurs regrow in 4-5 days??

Sorry, this is so long, but I'm not sure how my bunny can not eat much better and get more problems, (within days) when she's getting dentals (under GA) every 3 weeks to correct it?

Thanks for any help, (hope its not too confusing!)


Susan  

Answer
Dear Susan,

I've never heard of the otoscope/crumbling technique you describe, but if it works, then go for it, as long as it's easier on bun.

But at the age of 10, she may be having bone density loss problems that are beyond treatment with anything but constant filing of her problematic molars.

I almost never suggest something this drastic, but did you discuss the possibility of actually *removing* the problematic molars (and their matching uppers) with the vet?  I know of some rabbits who have *no* teeth at all, and they do very well as long as their pellets are made into fluff with warm chamomile tea, and their greens are pureed in a blender.  If she has even a few molars left for grinding, it might be something to consider if the vet thinks she's well enough for this type of surgery.

If the vet you saw was NOT Frances Harcourt-Brown, then I would try to get bun to see her.  She is *the* rabbit dental expert in the UK, and she might have additional suggestions.  Her contact information is here:

http://www.any-uk-vet.co.uk/harcourt-brown/

Hope this helps.

Dana