mouth, swelling in gums

Question
Dear Dana,   Dat is 13 years old. Just this week started ripping at
his towels. Last night found the area he was working on soaking
wet. Area under chin wet, too. But he's still eating and drinking
fairly well. When I finally got his mouth open I could see the gums
were swollen; the area just to the sides of the bottom incisors
looked like large pink polyps. A brief glimpse of the upper front
mouth looked liked the tissue was discolored and lumpy/swollen.
His upper and lower incisors seem fine. His usual vet hasn't seen
anything like it. I have an appointment with another vet, but am
afraid it will be new to him, too. Any ideas?  

Answer
Dear Kathleen,

Without seeing it, I can't really tell what's going on.  I wonder if he somehow got splinters in his gums that then became infected.  Or is it possible that his tooth roots have become abscessed?  

If your vet isn't a bunny expert, you might wish to find one to get a second opinion here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Please also read:

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

It's important that he have a complete dental exam to be sure there are no foreign bodies, molar spurs needing filing, or other problems.

If there is no sign of infection, then the only thing I could recommend would be a biopsy of the gum tissue sent off to a lab for histopathology.

I hope this helps!

Dana