Rabbit Teeth

In addition to these front teeth, rabbits have two more teeth directly behind the two upper teeth, and a full set of molars in the back of the jaw which they use to masticate their high-fiber food.

The rabbit pictured here has perfectly aligned rabbit teeth.

The front incisors and the molars grow throughout the rabbit’s life. Rabbits have to chew stuff in order to wear them down and keep them maintained at a correct (short) length. When the uppers and lowers don’t meet correctly, or if the rabbit doesn't chew enough, they don’t wear each other down. The result is wolf teeth, or more correctly, malocclusion. Another name is 'buck teeth.'

Malocclusion in youngsters is seen as early as 3 weeks of age, and varies in severity. The incisors may be frankly misaligned with the lower incisors protruding beyond the upper incisors. Or, they may abut straight on. Unless very severe, malocclusion in youngsters will frequently correct itself by 10 weeks old as the upper jaw catches up in growth to the lower jaw.

Malocclusion

At any rate, a single recessive gene by itself does not explain the multiple degrees of genetic malocclusion. Whether genes or modifiers, it seems likely that several factors must 'align' in the genetic code of a rabbit in order to produce malocclusion, and if three or four conditions are suitable but a fifth is not, the rabbit will not present with malocclusion.

But, breed this animal with 'perfect' teeth carrying malocclusion in 4 of 5 modifiers to a rabbit with 'perfect' teeth except for that single modifier the mate is missing, and you could be surprised by kits with frank malocclusion.

This is the current hypothesis, anyways.

Trauma
Some rabbits develop buck teeth by yanking on the cage wire, disturbing the alignment in their teeth. This is not a genetic problem, but a physical one. Sometimes the resulting buck teeth condition is permanent, but sometimes the rabbit heals itself.

Getting dropped and breaking the jaw can also result in malocclusion. Consult your rabbit-savvy vet.

New Onset Malocclusion in adults:
A more serious form of malocclusion occurs in adult rabbits, which may not be genetically related. Dietary problems such as not enough calcium, Vitamin D, or roughage can combine with too many calories, and cause a variety of problems.

• Calcium and Vitamin D deficiency can soften the facial bones, allowing the rabbit's teeth to get pressured out of alignment in adulthood.
• Too many calories and not enough roughage may quickly contribute to not enough chewing, as the rabbit is satisfied.
• Malocclusion in older rabbits is frequently accompanied by other dental problems, such as abscesses, and overgrowth of the molars affecting the incisors and putting pressure on the tear ducts.

Pet rabbits seem to be prone to adult-onset malocclusion.

How to check rabbit teeth:
Spread the corners of the rabbit’s mouth into a smile, as in the picture above. This reveals both the upper and the lower incisors. You want to see the uppers overlapping the lowers. In youngsters, if they abut exactly, the alignment may very well correct itself in a few weeks.

If the lower teeth meet the upper teeth on the outside, this may not correct. Keep a close eye on the rabbit. If this is an adult rabbit, you may already see that the teeth are growing too long.

What you see:
Rabbit teeth that are excessively long, usually with the lower teeth growing to the outside of the upper teeth.

Pictured here is about the worst case of malocclusion I’ve ever seen, only because the rabbit has been neglected and the teeth have been allowed to become severely overgrown. Since the teeth grow at a rate of roughly 1/2 inch per month, it only takes a few months for the teeth to become this horrific. This animal probably cannot chew without a tooth digging into his flesh somewhere.

Is it possible to eliminate malocclusion from the herd entirely?

Malocclusion is a complex genetic syndrome. Rabbit breeders should cull all offspring that clearly exhibit buck teeth. But it is unlikely that the breeder can simply cull a few animals and call it a day.

Since the jury is still out as to the exact mode of inheritance, you might want to repeat the breeding to settle the question of whether or not the buck teeth are genetic, or due to some injury, especially if just one rabbit in a litter turns up with crooked rabbit teeth.

If the problem is indeed genetic, the breeder may wish to cull the parents, and then continuously select for breeding stock only those offspring with ideal alignment at 4-6 weeks.

In much the same way as a breeder can nearly eliminate susceptibility to snuffles in his herd through consistent culling, we think the series of unknown genes or modifiers that together produce malocclusion can equally be eliminated. Just keep using for breeding the rabbits that have ideal teeth alignment. Yes, it might take a year or more, but many breeders have accomplished this task.

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