Rabbit teeth grow throughout life, and they stay healthy only while opposing teeth meet accurately and grind each other down on a high-fibre diet. The annual examination is where a vet verifies that this wear system still works, because the most important teeth sit far back in a small mouth that resists inspection at home. This article describes what vets commonly check for and which owner-visible signs between examinations deserve an earlier booking. It offers no home dental care of any kind: owners should never file, clip or trim a rabbit's teeth themselves, since teeth can shatter below the gumline and roots can be damaged by well-meant interference.
Incisors: Alignment, Length and Wear at the Front
The four large front incisors are the only teeth an owner glimpses easily, and the vet begins there. In a sound mouth the upper and lower incisors meet in a precise overlap, wear to a chisel edge, and stay similar in length with smooth surfaces. The vet looks for overgrowth where teeth have outpaced wear, slanted wear that hints one side is favoured, misalignment where upper and lower sets no longer meet squarely, and discolouration, ridging or brittleness in the enamel. The vet also watches how the lips close over the teeth and checks for sores where a long or angled tooth presses into soft tissue. Misaligned incisors matter beyond their own length, because a rabbit struggling at the front often chews differently behind, shifting wear onto the cheek teeth as well.
Cheek Teeth: Spurs and Uneven Wear Seen With a Scope
The premolars and molars, collectively the cheek teeth, sit in tight rows the vet views with a scope or speculum while an assistant supports the rabbit. Sharp pointed spurs form where a tooth edge escapes wear, commonly on the inner side of the lower teeth where points can lacerate the tongue, or the outer side of the upper teeth where points cut the cheek. The vet checks each arcade for spurs, steps where one tooth stands taller than its neighbours, loose or tilted teeth, and food packing between teeth. Gum state completes the picture: healthy gums look firm and pale pink, while reddened, swollen or receding gums around a tooth raise questions the vet investigates, including whether roots below the gumline are involved. Because tooth roots extend deep into the jaw and, for upper teeth, toward the eye sockets, the vet may also ask about eye watering or nasal discharge as part of the same assessment.
Owner-Observable Signs Between Examinations
Owners hold the early-warning role, since eating behaviour changes before weight collapses. Selective eating is the classic first sign: the rabbit still rushes to the bowl, yet leaves hay and long strands, choosing soft leaves, pellets or grated foods that need less grinding. Drooling, a persistently wet chin and dewlap, or matted fur under the jaw point the same way, as does dropping food after picking it up, chewing slowly on one side, or a new reluctance to bite into firm vegetables. Follow the droppings too, because reduced hay intake shrinks pellet size and quantity days before the rabbit looks thin. Monthly weighing catches the gradual drift that hands miss through a thick coat, and a falling trend paired with any eating change should shorten the wait for an appointment from months to days.
Booking In and Keeping the Dental Story Straight
Any of those signs merits a prompt appointment rather than a wait for the annual date, and a rabbit that stops eating altogether needs same-day veterinary advice, since gut movement depends on intake. At the visit, tell the vet when eating changed, which foods get left, and what the scales and droppings have shown, then ask what was found on the scope examination and when the vet wants the teeth rechecked. Record the findings in plain words, noting which teeth were involved, so the next examination starts from a clear history rather than a fresh guess.
Store each examination summary and monthly weight inside Pet Passport on KinsLe, giving every future vet the full dental sequence at a glance.