Rabbit bottom broken teeth & misalignment

Question
My rabbit was attempting to escape from his cage by biting the bar of his cage and he ended up breaking off one of his bottom teeth (more than half of it) and the other bottom teeth was pulled outward. I noticed that he may potentially have Malocclusion because it was severely misaligned and it was poking the bottom of his nose, but now that particular teeth is pulled out further. When the accident occured, he appeared to be in a severe state of pain as he was losing control of his balance. Can you please tell me what needs to be done and if this problem is as severe as I think? Thank you.

Answer
Dear Kristiana,

It is very unusual for a rabbit to pull so hard on something with his teeth that he actually breaks them off, unless the teeth actually got stuck.  This makes me wonder if he had a malocclusion *before* he pulled his teeth, and you're just now noticing it.  Please read:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/dental.html

Please get him to a good rabbit vet ASAP, since indications of pain may mean that he broke a bone and needs emergency medical attention to prevent life-threatening complications.  The crooked/broken teeth should probably be pulled, if they are broken under the gumline, and that will stop the pain.  It wouldn't hurt to ask the vet about giving the bunny some metacam and tramadol for pain, though.  You can find an experienced rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

The "dental" article above explains the options for long-term control of maloccluded teeth, so I hope it will help you get your bunny into safe, comfortable condition for the rest of a long, happy life.

Dana