Checking Your Rabbit's Teeth: A Visual Guide

Dental disease is the single most common serious health problem in domestic rabbits, affecting an estimated 70–80% of rabbits over the age of four years to some degree. It is also one of the most frequently missed health issues because the problem develops in the back teeth (molars), invisible without veterinary equipment. However, a basic home visual check of the front teeth and regular monitoring for the subtle behavioural signs of dental pain can catch problems earlier — and earlier treatment almost always has better outcomes.

Understanding Rabbit Dentition

Rabbits are hypsodont animals — their teeth grow continuously throughout their lives:

• Incisors: 4 upper (2 large, 2 small “peg teeth” behind), 2 lower
• Premolars and molars: 6 upper, 6 lower (referred to collectively as “cheek teeth”)

All of these teeth grow at approximately 2–3mm per week. Normal wear (through chewing hay, grass, and fibrous food) keeps them at the correct length and shape. When diet is inadequate — particularly insufficient hay — teeth continue to grow without sufficient wear, leading to overgrowth and ultimately malocclusion.

What You Can Check at Home

Incisor Check

The incisors are the only teeth you can assess at home without equipment. To check:

1. Gently part your rabbit’s lips at the front of the mouth — use your thumb on the upper lip and index finger on the lower lip
2. The upper incisors should slightly overlap the lower incisors, meeting in a slight scissor bite
3. The cutting edges of the incisors should be relatively flat (when worn correctly by the lower incisors)
4. Upper and lower should align — not offset to one side
5. No cracks, chips, or discolouration

Warning signs in the incisors:

• Overgrowth — incisors visibly longer than normal, beginning to curve
• Asymmetry — one side obviously longer or shorter
• One or more incisors are missing (they break off when malocclused)
• Spurs or sharp points visible on the cutting edge
• Yellowing or browning of a tooth that was previously white

Important: Incisor problems, while visible, are often a secondary indicator of cheek tooth problems. The root of the problem is almost always in the back teeth — the incisors may develop problems as a downstream consequence of changes in jaw alignment caused by molar disease.

Behavioural Dental Warning Signs

Because you cannot see the cheek teeth at home, monitoring behaviour is essential:

Sign	Significance
Reduced hay consumption	Most important single sign — cheek teeth pain makes chewing hay uncomfortable
Dropping food (quidding)	Difficulty completing chewing — food falls from the mouth half-chewed
Weight loss	Reduced food intake due to pain
Wet chin	Excessive salivation from dental pain or jaw position change
Weepy eye	Upper molar roots compress tear duct
Preference for soft foods	Avoiding hay and harder vegetables
Pawing at mouth	Acute discomfort
Grinding teeth audibly	Pain signal

What Vets Check That You Cannot

A full dental exam under sedation or anaesthesia includes:

• Direct examination of all cheek teeth for spurs (sharp points that lacerate the tongue and cheeks)
• Probing for periodontal pockets
• Skull X-rays to examine tooth roots, bone density, and root elongation into eye sockets or jaw bone
• Assessment of jaw mobility and symmetry

Many rabbit dental problems are invisible on the surface but visible only on X-ray. This is why routine veterinary dental checks — at least annually — are essential for all rabbits over 3 years, regardless of whether problems are visible.

Prevention: Diet Is Everything

The primary prevention for dental disease is correct diet:

• Unlimited hay (timothy, orchard grass, or equivalent) — the long fibres of hay require extensive chewing and provide the lateral grinding action that wears cheek teeth correctly
• Minimal pellets — soft pellets require minimal chewing and contribute to dental overgrowth
• Fresh grass when available — similar chewing action to hay

A rabbit eating the correct diet — where 80% or more of food intake is hay — has dramatically lower rates of dental disease than one on a pellet-heavy diet.

The RabbitCare App

The RabbitCare App (free on Android) includes a monthly health check log with a dental section — prompting you to check incisors and note any behavioural warning signs. Tracking these over time makes it much easier to identify gradual changes that individual day-to-day observation might miss.

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References & Sources

1. Harcourt-Brown, F. (2002) — Textbook of Rabbit Medicine, Butterworth-Heinemann
2. RWAF — “Dental Disease in Rabbits” — rabbitwelfare.co.uk
3. Meredith, A. & Lord, B. (Eds.) (2014) — BSAVA Manual of Rabbit Medicine, BSAVA
4. House Rabbit Society (HRS) — “Dental Care” — rabbit.org
5. PDSA — “Rabbit Dental Health” — pdsa.org.uk