At Portland Vets, we encourage owners to do what they can to help care for their pets’ oral health. There are things you can do at home to help keep your pet’s mouth in tip-top shape and our team strongly recommend regular brushing of your dog/cat’s teeth.
Our nursing team are happy to provide product recommendations and demonstrations to clients. Alongside this, we routinely provide dental check-ups within our nursing clinics and at every vaccination appointment, your pet will receive a health check, including a brief dental examination to ascertain if any treatment may be needed.
We also offer surgical tooth extraction and nerve block LA.
Read our dental handout for more information about the dental procedures we perform and the costs involved.
At our East Grinstead clinic, we can fully assess your pet’s dental needs and use our diagnostic equipment and dental machinery to ensure we thoroughly clean your pet’s teeth and extract non-viable teeth if required. This will be completed under a general anaesthetic and your vet will discuss the procedure before helping to get your pet booked in.
We also sell dental packs (costing £11.89) for dog and cat owners which includes beef flavoured enzymatic toothpaste, a dual ended toothbrush and two finger brush heads to use on sensitive gums. Chat to our reception team if you would like to pick one up for your pet.
Overgrown teeth or dental malocclusion is one of the most common problems seen by vets in pet rabbits.
Did you know that your rabbits and guinea pigs’ teeth grow their whole life. This constant growth often results in overgrowth, becoming uncomfortable for your pet, resulting in them needing dental treatment.
To help prevent this from happening, we recommend providing your pet with wooden chew toys and roughage blocks to help them keep their teeth filed down. Our vets also advise that rabbit and guinea pig owners book their pet in for routine dental checks to ensure that their molars and incisors are a healthy length and not causing your pet any pain.
Dental problems in rabbits and small furries can become an emergency problem very quickly if their appetite and ability to eat becomes affected.
Normal Incisors VS Overgrown Incisors
As rabbit and guinea pigs’ teeth continuously grow throughout life, if their teeth are growing at abnormal angles problems can recur multiple times.
Rabbits & guinea pigs keep their teeth in shape and at the correct level by grinding on grass and hay.
If the teeth are not aligned correctly or if there is little opportunity to grind, the teeth become deformed. The teeth form sharp spurs which then start cutting into the mouth and tongue causing ulcers and infection. This then leads to difficulty eating and severe digestive problems that may be fatal.
Indications of this problem are poor appetite, weight loss, salivation/dribbling, abscesses around the jaw/face, eye infections and matted droppings around the hindquarters.
What does dental treatment in rabbits involve?
Your vet will have recommended dental treatment if, on examination, your rabbit has overgrown incisors (front teeth) or has sharp spurs or abnormal growth of the back (cheek) teeth, that are causing your rabbit discomfort, or stopping them from eating due to pain.
Dental treatment for your rabbit requires a general anaesthetic in order to fully assess their mouth. As rabbits have sensitive guts we always give our rabbit patient’s medications which support healthy gut movement before, during and after any anaesthetic. We always recommend performing dental x-rays in order to assess what is going on below the gum line, to check for any dental abscesses and to assess the tooth roots. After performing the x-rays we then burr down any sharp edges or shorten overgrown incisors, depending on what is required.
For more information or to make a booking, contact our team today.